■Horace-William- Rose 



VADE -HICKS 




_ 



Class JBYli. 
Book. ."K&H ii 
Copyright^? 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



E flfcemorial of 
Iborace William IRose 



3BB 

Darts H^e Dicfcs 




y^ggsy 



NEW YORK 

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF 

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS 

1904 






LIBRARY nf CONGRESS 
Two Qoeies deceived 

JUN 24 1904 

Cooyrlgrht £ntry 
LASS CL, XXo. No. 

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COPY B 






Copyright, 1904, 

By 

The International Committee of 

Young Men's Christian Associations 



Stanbope press 

F. H. GILSON COMPANY 

BOSTON, U.S.A. 



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Zo Ibis flDotber 



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preface 

Three years and more have passed since the 
subject of this brief memorial was called from 
service by death. While his work was done before 
he had reached the age of twenty-seven, the record 
contains the story of a finished life. Only the 
repeated requests of friends in and out of college, 
and within Association circles, that a story of his 
life be written, has led the author finally to prepare 
what is here given to the public. 

Not all students choose the best in college. 
Some choose for themselves habits of life which 
forever after are like millstones about their necks. 
This simple narrative tells of one who chose wisely 
and redeemed the time. 

Encouragement can be taken in reading this 
book because Horace W. Rose was an ordinary 
man. In one point only did he greatly excel other 
men, and that was his devotion to Jesus Christ. If 
any reader is led to wage a stronger fight against 
sin, or give himself with greater abandonment to 
Christian service, the mission of the book will be 
fulfilled. 

Acknowledgment is here made for kind aid ren- 
dered by many who have furnished material for the 
memorial. » 

H. W. H. 

Boston, June io, 1904. 



Untrofcuction 



" It is a glorious thing," said Disraeli, "to see a 
nation saved by its youth." As go the colleges, so 
goes the nation. In seeking to purify and enrich 
the student communities, therefore, one is influen- 
cing the very springs of the national life. For over 
ten years, either as student or as worker among 
students, chiefly in the Upper Mississippi Valley, 
that region where our higher educational institu- 
tions are most plastic, and also expanding most 
rapidly, Horace William Rose lived out a life and 
wrought a work which will never die. No patriot, 
statesman, teacher, preacher or philanthropist in all 
that section has more truly advanced the best life of 
the country and the Kingdom of Christ. 

This man afforded and made attractive an ex- 
ample of the highest type of Christian student life. 
He furnished the students of our day a working 
model in character, in faith, and in service. He 
was a man of reality ; intolerant of all pretence and 
hypocrisy. While ever preserving an open mind to 
all truth and maintaining the power of growth, he 
was firmly established in the fundamental points of 
the Christian faith. In the midst of college life, 



Introduction 

which is more characterized by selfishness, clannish- 
ness and class spirit than is usually supposed, he 
abounded with unselfish love and kept in sympa- 
thetic and helpful touch with all kinds of students, 
the rich and the poor, the brilliant and the dull, 
the popular and the unpopular. His cheerfulness 
and optimism were the strength of his life. His 
physical and moral courage were splendid, ena- 
bling him to wage triumphant warfare against every 
enemy of college life. His zeal to have Christ's 
reign made co-extensive with the whole world was 
consuming. His steadfast loyalty to Christ and his 
absorbing passion to make Him known, constituted 
the crown of his life. 

It is a distinguishing merit of this Memorial that 
the author has so presented these traits that they 
seem compelling and capable of imitation. In thus 
making the subject of the book actually live before 
us, and in stimulating the will to emulate his life 
and works, the best offices of true biography are 
served. One cannot resist the conclusion that, if 
the spirit which characterizes Horace Rose became 
more general among the Christian students of our 
day, the moral and religious life of the colleges and 
universities would be transformed. 

It is well that this Memorial appears after suffi- 
cient time has elapsed to admit of assembling so 
much valuable material. Moreover, it affords op- 
portunity to see the life of Rose in better perspec- 



Untro&uction 

tive and to estimate more accurately his influence. 
It also introduces to a new generation of students 
a life which has its message for every Christian col- 
lege man in these days. Just as Sinker's " Memo- 
rials of Ion Keith-Falconer " greatly influenced 
students three or four student generations ago, and 
Speer's " Record of the Life of Hugh Beaver " ren- 
dered a similar service a few years since, Mr. 
Hicks' work, which has been done with marked dis- 
cernment, fidelity and sympathy, will come with 
helpful force to the present generation of students 
of this and other lands. 

The consideration of such a career may well lead 
us to reappraise life values. Wherein lies the cause 
of the true success of the life of Horace Rose? 
Not in the length of life, for his career was termi- 
nated when he was considerably less than thirty 
years of age. Not in his activity and intensity, al- 
though he was remarkable in both of these respects. 
Not in his fame, for from the point of view of the 
world he was comparatively little known. In his 
full-orbed, symmetrical character, in his Christ-like 
service of his fellows, in his absolute abandon to 
know and to do the will of God, we find the source of 
his enduring and fruitful influence. The sentence 
which best epitomizes his ambition and life-work is 
the longing he himself voiced, and which he most 
certainly realized, "Oh, for the power to burn a 
path of light in these colleges for Christ ! " 

John R. Mott. 



Contents 

CHAPTER I 
Early Life 9 

CHAPTER II 
At Beloit . . 17 

CHAPTER III 
At Iowa and Michigan State Universities 35 

CHAPTER IV 
A Fall Term among the Colleges of the 53 
West 

CHAPTER V 
Winter and Spring among the Colleges 
of the West k 70 

CHAPTER VI 
At Cornell 85 

CHAPTER VII 

Cornell Memorial Service 100 

CHAPTER VIII 

Geneva Memorial Service 116 

CHAPTER IX 

Other Tributes 128 

APPENDIX 143 

7 



a Memorial to 

Iborace William IRose 



CHAPTER I 

EARLY LIFE 

IT rarely happens that a young man less than 
twenty-seven years of age exerts a positive re- 
ligious influence on an entire generation of 
college students throughout the United States and 
Canada. Pilkinton of Uganda died before his life- 
work was actually begun, but his written biography 
has stirred the spiritual life of multitudes. Other 
foreign missionaries have spent their life force be- 
fore the age of thirty-five, and have merited the 
" Well done, good and faithful servant." The sub- 
ject of this brief life story finished his work before 
he had reached the age of twenty-seven, and left an 
indelible impression on the lives of thousands of 
college men whom he met, and multitudes of others 
through his indirect influence. 

Horace William Rose was born September 19, 
1874, in Rockford, Illinois. The years of his child- 
hood and early young manhood were spent in the 

9 



tn ADemoriam 

home at the two towns of Rockford and Pittsfield in 
Illinois, until, in 1887, the family moved to Fort At- 
kinson, Wisconsin. From this place of residence 
Horace entered college. He died of typhoid fever in 
the city hospital at Ithaca, New York, where he was en- 
gaged as General Secretary of the Christian Associa- 
tion of Cornell University, on January 10, 1901, aged 
twenty-six years, three months, and twenty-two days. 
His father was William Wilberforce Rose, a Con- 
gregational clergyman of unusual power, and pastor 
of the Congregational churches in the towns w^here 
the family resided. The father was mourned at 
the time of his death by a multitude of friends to 
whom he had ministered throughout several long 
pastorates. His mother, who still survives although 
in broken health, entered no less into the affections 
of the people to whom the father ministered. The 
graces and virtues of both parents seem to have 
been inherited by Horace, and it was due to their 
devotion and training that he became early in life a 
most efficient worker in the church and a leader 
inspired with lofty Christian principles. 

There were four boys in the family, — Horace, 
Frank, Richard, and Sidney. During his early 
years there was strong manifestation of the traits of 
character which marked his service of later years. 
His mother in writing since his death said : — 

He was often referred to as " the minister," not altogether 
on account of his serious demeanor, for he was bubbling over 

IO 



JSavly Xife 

with fun, but more because he was always ready to turn his 
thoughts to serious subjects, and because of his extremely 
conscientious adherence to duty. I have always said that 
Horace preached his first sermon when he was three years 
old during a lively agitation on the temperance question in 
the community. Standing upon a chair with book in hand 
he proclaimed to an imaginary audience, " Don't 'e dink any 
more risky ; it dunks you ; it burns you so you can't see ; it 
deads you. Don't 'e do it, for Christ's sake." 

A companion of his childhood days who lived in 
a neighboring house from 1874 to 1884 tells how 
they marvelled that Horace never forgot to say " if 
you please," " thank you," and such things as the 
rest usually omitted to say. " He was always 
scrupulously polite. My brother used to persuade 
the four Rose boys to help him fill the woodbox. 
Horace always stopped at the door, and, no mat- 
ter how full his arms were of wood, managed in 
some way to get his hat off before he entered. 
He was fond of music, and seemed to revel in the 
neighborhood concerts. The song he used to 
sing with greatest enthusiasm was ' Roll, Jordan, 
Roll.' " 

Another intimate friend writes regarding the spirit 
of his early life : — 

He was so full of buoyant life and fun that his mates 
were glad to follow whether it were to a prayer-meeting or a 
ball game. When he was fifteen years of age it was my good 
fortune to visit his home. His father was a boy with his 
sons, and merry were the days with picnics and boat-rides. 

II 



In flDemorfam 

Once when eating radishes Horace remarked, " When you 
eat radishes you go to the root of the matter." One day a 
party of us were out in the boat, when Sidney and Horace 
began rocking. I was timid, and their father, seeing my fear, 
assured me they would take no risk. But as I still seemed 
nervous he spoke a low word to the boys. Instantly the boat 
was quiet, and Horace earnestly begged my pardon, and ex- 
pressed regret that they had caused me a moment of discom- 
fort. 

On another occasion, in the evening, he came home after 
I had retired. I heard him stop at his mother's door and 
talk in excited whispers. It alarmed me somewhat, for fear 
that an accident had occurred on the water. When I inquired 
next morning, Mrs. Rose said, " Oh, no ! not any difficulty. It 
is Horace's custom to stop at my door and confide in me the 
events of the evening, and he spoke last night in whispers for 
fear of disturbing you. 

A lifelong friend who knew Horace well when he 
was thirteen years old has written of his manly char- 
acter manifesting itself in a full and enthusiastic 
life interested in all boyish sports. " He was one 
of those boys who was ever ready to do boyish 
things, but never mean tricks of any kind. He 
seemed to have an inborn spirit of manliness which 
made him above these things. At an early period 
in life he became an active Christian worker in 
departments of church life where he could be help- 
ful, and his enthusiasm was contagious." 

Horace's love for his home was a safeguard 
against the evils of boyhood and early young man- 
hood to which many succumb. He had great rev- 

12 



Earts Xife 

erence for his father, and the breach which so often 
exists between father and son did not exist between 
them. The nobility of his father's life and service 
undoubtedly influenced Horace greatly to undertake 
direct Christian work. 

His affection for his mother was manifested from 
earliest years, and continued to mark him as an un- 
usual son until the time of his death. The spirit of 
fun in the home is shown by a story told by W. B. 
Van Akin, a Beloit classmate : — 

I knew every member of his family, and spent very many 
days visiting with them. There was a personal freedom in 
the family relationship which to me bordered on the ludi- 
crous. The boys all called their father " Elder," and their 
mother they all called " Lizzie," and they had many differ- 
ent epithets for the different members of the family. One 
morning they were all gathered together at family worship. 
Mrs. Rose had been troubled for some time with an illness 
which made stooping and rising difficult. After Mr. Rose 
had finished offering prayer, two of the boys took hold of 
their mother, one on each side, and shouted, " We'll lift the 
band-wagon up ! " and lifted their mother to her feet. 

Another friend of his early childhood says, — 
" To show the loyalty of his nature, he never out- 
grew his yearning to visit ' the old home ; ' and when 
one of his chums started for Europe, he said, 'I 
would rather go to Pittsfield than to Europe.' " 

His respectful love for his father and his tender 
chivalry toward his mother were among the most 
beautiful traits of his character. In a letter written 

1 3 



flit flDemoriam 

after the death of his father, he said, " Mother is the 
truest, bravest woman who ever cared for sons." 

The testimony of his brothers to his influence on 
them is marked by tender affection, showing that 
Horace was a counsellor to them as he was to hun- 
dreds of other young men during the last five or six 
years of his life. Richard wrote two years after 
Horace's death, from Carleton College, describing 
this relationship : — 

Horace was a great lover of his home. He spent much 
of his time there. It was a delight to him, after a swim with 
the boys in the summer time or a coast in the winter time, to 
get back to the place where his dear ones were. His even- 
ings were largely spent in the home circle. The devotion to 
his mother, so strong in later years, was strongly marked at 
this time. He was obedient and respectful to her, and was 
glad to be where she was. He had great admiration for his 
father, and trusted his judgment unreservedly in all things. 
Horace endeavored to do that which would gain the approval 
of his father, and was very happy when this was accomplished. 

He was a great boy for fun. He joined in all the sports, 
and soon became a leader in them. It is in this relation that 
his brothers best knew him. If it was in football, he was in 
the midst of the scrimmage ; if in baseball, he was behind 
the bat. The intensity of his later life was developed from 
the intensity with which he entered into things when a boy. 
He enjoyed most thoroughly the game of marbles, but would 
never " hunch " to win a game. His love for fairness was 
such that his fellows came to him as arbiter of disputes. 
The boys liked to hear Holly's merry, loud laugh, and wanted 
him on their side in the different contests. He had a great de- 
sire for winning, and would strive the utmost to win, but never 

14 



Earls Xife 

did so unless fairly. He was helpful and loving to his brothers, 
and entered heartily into their joys and disappointments. 

A quotation from a memorial work to his father 
is appropriate to Horace, illustrating the purity of 
his childhood life. 

He was especially beloved by the children. He had no 
airs, no pretensions, and was genuinely the friend of every- 
body. He was sincere, kind, and had the spirit of a child. 
He could carry no grudge. He was gentle and chivalrous to 
all women. Mothers felt that he was ever a safe and trusty 
companion for their children, and one to be relied upon. 

Those who knew Horace will recognize in this 
early characteristic a virtue which in his last years 
controlled his whole being. Those who heard him 
speak and mingled with him in the sports of sum- 
mer conferences and in the serious discussions of 
religious meetings were thrilled by it. 

During the opening years of his young manhood 
he enlisted as a member of Company B in the first 
regiment of Wisconsin National Guard, commonly 
called " The Hoard Rifles. ,, In this company he 
served five years. As a soldier he was conscien- 
tious in his duties. Many who served with him and 
who knew his connection with this regiment speak 
of the remarkable influence he exerted among the 
soldiers of his company, especially in purifying the 
conversation of camp life and in organizing the men 
to do religious work. " He was all things to all 

i5 



fit flDemortam 

men," said a lifelong companion and friend. " He 
joined the Fort Atkinson Guards that he might go 
with them to Camp Douglas on their annual outing 
and drill Several boys who were members of that 
regiment have told me how they were led to take up 
a different way of living because of the influence of 
his quiet hour of meditation and Bible study, and his 
talks with them about Christ, accompanied by his 
hearty entry into all the fun and sport of the camp.'' 



16 






at aseiott 



CHAPTER II 

AT BELOIT 

IN the year 1891, at the age of seventeen, 
Horace left home to enter upon his academy 
and college life. The natural Christian train- 
ing which he had received had fitted him well for the 
environment in which he found himself at the begin- 
ning of his academy course at Beloit. Not many 
weeks passed before his ability as a leader was 
recognized by his classmates. There are practically 
no records of his life at the academy as far as his 
scholarship is concerned. But the letters gathered 
from his college classmates throw some light upon 
his religious experience during the first year of his 
academy training. A member of the class of '96 
at Beloit speaks at length of his zeal in Christian 
Endeavor work in the Congregational Church with 
which he connected himself as a member shortly 
after the beginning of his residence at Beloit : — 

He was the first man to get me deeply interested in the 
Christian Endeavor work. Suzetta Rosenblatt, who after- 
wards became Mrs. Horace Rose, was very much interested 
in the Christian Endeavor Society, and was a member of the 
Social Committee. Rose and I went together to one of 
the fall socials. A feature of the evening's entertainment was 
to work out a life motto from the letters Y. P. S. C. E., and 
the prize offered for the best motto was a big pumpkin pie. 

17 



Hn /IDemoriam 

I became very much interested in the pumpkin pie, and con- 
sequently worked hard on the motto and won the prize. 
Rose, Miss Rosenblatt, and I enjoyed the pie together, and 
I have often thought that my real interest in Christian work 
dated from that time. I think I can honestly say that I owe 
more to Rose's influence over me than I do to any other per- 
son living, outside of my mother, for we used to talk over 
together all the problems in our individual lives, and I never 
failed to receive much help from him. The motto worked 
out was, " Your Prayers Should Consecrate Everything." 

In the practical, every-day affairs of student life 
Horace appeared at his best. The letters written 
by his father to friends contain many references to 
his development, not only as a result of his study, 
but through his intimate association with men in 
the various activities of college life : — 

October, 1 89 1. Horace is improving in his singing. The 
boys' quartet is quite a success. 

November, 1891. Holly is doing finely at Beloit. He is 
a big fellow, very forceful and independent, and very consci- 
entious. He is in his work with all his heart, and seems to be 
making an excellent beginning. He seems to be a popular 
fellow with the boys, and the professor who is chiefly respon- 
sible for him speaks of him in the most complimentary 
manner. 

January, 1892. It is rather noticeable how that boy makes 
everything go. 

May, 1892. He was chosen on the college baseball nine 
and the Glee Club, but does not go into either, as he thinks 
the absence would interfere with his studies. For the same 
reason he declined an offer to play the organ in the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church. 

18 



at SSeloit 

These records indicate an unwillingness to enter 
into other forms of student activity during academy 
days. But the time soon came when he labored 
constantly to induce Christian men to enter athlet- 
ics and the Glee Club in order that their influ- 
ence might be greater. One of the most notable 
factors in his success among men of prominence in 
universities and colleges was his ability to get at the 
captains of teams and the leading debaters of col- 
lege life, and draw them into organized Christian 
work. 

In the fall of 1892 Horace entered Beloit Col- 
lege, destined to graduate with the class of '96. 
This period was one of the richest in his personal 
experience, for it was here that his rapid develop- 
ment as a man among men, and a Christian leader, 
was achieved. As a student Horace did not rank 
high. He was entirely capable of taking high rank, 
but he seems to have chosen conscientiously a 
middle course, between those who " grind " and 
those who go to college merely because they are 
sent and desire to have a good time. 

It is apparent from his own letters, and those 
gathered from among his classmates, that he chose 
his policy well aware of the consequences. From 
the beginning of his college course he realized that 
never again would he be placed in an environment 
where his Christian influence would count for as 
much as in college. He therefore regulated his 

J 9 



Un /iDemoriam 

program with Christian work accorded a prominent 
place in his daily schedule. As soon as he was re- 
leased from the routine of college life and had en- 
tered upon his work as a Christian leader in other 
institutions, he applied himself strenuously to ad- 
vance studies. He seemed relieved to feel that the 
obligations of the college curriculum had been re- 
moved, and that now he could use his available 
time for study in a manner which would fit him for 
the peculiar work which he had undertaken. This 
enthusiasm for study resulted in his qualification for 
a Master's degree among the very first of his class. 

Other letters written by his father during his 
college course reveal other characteristics : — 

April, 1893. He is into everything — study, music, athlet- 
ics, and religion. 

August, 1894. Horace is doing Sunday-school mission- 
ary work. Nine new schools started with 450 boys and girls 
who were not in school before. A good summer's work. 

July, 1895. I think his success in the oratorical contest of 
his class was entirely unexpected by him, although I thought 
he was likely to win. There are two or three of his class- 
mates who seem as likely as he to come out ahead in a 
contest of that kind. 

As a leader of his college class he was elected as 
vice-president during the years 1892 and '93, and 
as president in 1895. 

During the year 1895-96, Horace acted as busi- 
ness manager of The Round Table, the college 

20 



Ht Eeloft 

paper published at Beloit. He became a member 
of the football team in 1893, and continued to play 
the game not only while at Beloit, but during the 
next three years, while he served as General Secre- 
tary at two of the largest universities of the coun- 
try. His influence on the football team was like 
that exerted in the " Hoard Rifles." An incident 
illustrating the boldness of his Christian character 
is given by W. B. Van Akin, who was a member of 
the football eleven with him : — 

I well remember one football team on which Rose and I 
played in our early college days. Nine men out of the eleven 
were sons of preachers, and during one of the football games 
some one of the opposing team was swearing in a most shock- 
ing manner. During a lull after one of the scrimmages, Rose 
went up to him and said in substance, " You are dragging in 
the dust the name of my best friend, and it hurts me every 
time you do it. I wish you would quit ! " That stopped the 
swearing for the game. 

During the years '9 1 and '93 Rose was a member 
of the college baseball team. He became one of 
the best catchers in the Middle West, and the ex- 
perience gained was always valuable to him in after 
years, when at Summer Conferences, Bible Institutes, 
and Presidents' Conferences, teams from among the 
delegates were organized to play other teams. 
Rose was always chosen as captain of the " Asso- 
ciation Team," and his coaching will always be 
remembered by those who had the good fortune to 

21 



f n flDemoriam 

be within range of his voice. He could play in any 
position, and was considered a strong batter. 

During the second year of his college course he 
became a member of the College Glee Club. 

" I bought my dress suit while I was in college," he told a 
friend afterwards, " though I was working my way mostly, 
and did not have much money to spare. I wanted to get 
on to the management of the Glee Club for certain reasons, 
and needed a dress suit, so I put in some extra work to earn 
money for it." 

As a debater his skill steadily developed. Dur- 
ing his freshman year he won first prize in the 
declamation contest. In extempore speaking dur- 
ing his junior year he took first place. Later he 
was selected as a prize speaker in the home oratori- 
cal contest, and won the first place in the Interstate 
Oratorical Contest, much to the surprise and grati- 
fication of all his friends, the winning colleges of 
ten States competing for the honor. The readiness 
of speech which gave him these honors was used 
by him as an exponent of a manly Christian life 
during the years of his travel when he stirred the 
Christian life of a hundred or more colleges west of 
the Mississippi as far as the coast. 

His chief religious work was done in the Student 
Young Men's Christian Association of Beloit College, 
as treasurer during the year beginning 1893, as 
vice-president during 1894, and as president by a 
unanimous vote during his senior year. His associ- 

22 



at Beloit 

ate in religious work, Mr. C. B. Olds, now a missionary 
in Japan, describes his religious service as follows : — 

I must speak of the kind of work that he did. In the 
first place he regarded it as his duty to be interested, heart 
and soul, in everything that was best in the life about him, 
both for the sake of personal culture and for the sake of in- 
fluence. There was nothing good going on in college or 
church or home that he was not actively in it. In athletics 
he was an all-round man — he was on the " nine," on the 
" eleven," on the track team, and was interested in every other 
sport. He was on the Glee Club, in the college choir, and the 
church choir. He was in the church Young People's Society 
of Christian Endeavor as chairman of the Lookout Committee, 
or some other important committee. He was leader of the 
Boys' Brigade, which also he organized, and he met with the 
boys weekly. He was a faithful member of his fraternity, 
and he was at one time business manager of the college paper, 
which meant a great amount of work. He did not neglect 
social duties, and he was a welcome visitor in many homes. 

All these things and many other occasional duties were 
part of his daily life, and they took time. But his work was 
in the Young Men's Christian Association, impressing with 
noble ideals many of the otherwise neglected young men. 
From the beginning of his life in college he had his part in 
this work. He rarely missed a prayer-meeting ; and his words, 
which he seldom failed in expressing, were spoken with great 
earnestness and directness that kindled response in all of us. 

Horace was remarkable as a constantly growing man, and 
it was in this ability to approach and impress men that his 
greatest growth was seen. When he reached his senior year 
and the Young Men's Christian Association election ap- 
proached, there was no question as to the one who should 
be elected president, though there were other strong men in 
the class. He had shown himself to be head and shoulders 

23 



An /iDemoriam 

above all the rest in this field, and when he found himself at 
the head of the work he devoted his very life to it. He dis- 
played a wonderful power to bring and hold men together in 
the work. He never was an autocrat. He sought and 
received advice and suggestions from all, so that the humblest 
of those he gathered about him felt that they were comrades 
together. Yet his personality dominated all. He was in 
close fellowship with the Master, and through his personality 
he brought all who were with him into the same fellowship. 

His constant passion was to win men to Christ. He 
prepared for the Day of Prayer weeks and even months 
beforehand. He gathered his workers about him for daily 
prayer for success in winning men. And so in the old music- 
room a dozen or more of the fellows met together in the 
gloom of the early evening, to pray with one accord for the 
conversion of men. We prayed not for ourselves, but for 
individuals by name, whom we also talked over together as 
brothers. And the work did not end with prayers. If no 
one else followed the men up, Horace did, with a persistence 
that never let go. He saw these men personally, again and 
again, and not only invited them to meetings, but had inter- 
views with them, seeking to win them to Christ. 

Such work was bound to tell ; and many a man may date 
the beginning of his Christian life to the earnest appeal 
of Horace Rose, made to him in his room while he was a 
student at Beloit College. It was not an uncommon thing, 
on the day of an important Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion prayer-meeting, for him to go through the dormitory and 
invite personally every one of the sixty or seventy men in the 
hall to attend the meeting, and frequently he had interviews 
with a dozen or more men in a single day regarding the duty 
of deciding for Christ. 

On the eve of the Day of Prayer, I remember, he and two 
others of us got together and planned the campaign for the 
long awaited day. We agreed, I recollect, to pray for three 

24 



St 3Beloit 

definite things. I forget the third, but two things were to 
pray for a renewed interest in the work on the part of some 
of the Christian men who had become indifferent, and the 
conversion of at least a dozen men as a result of the day's 
work. We talked over freely the conditions of prayer, and 
asked ourselves if our faith was equal to such petitions. 
Having decided that it was, we prayed with an intensity 
of conviction. Going out from that little meeting, Horace 
went to work, and that with all his might. Well, it was 
a wonderful day. I remember, at its close, Horace came to 
me and said, " Well, I guess our prayer was answered," and 
surely so it seemed. 

Rose belonged to the Beloit chapter of Beta 
Theta Pi. There is every evidence that he con- 
sidered his connection with the fraternity both as 
a great opportunity and as something of an impedi- 
ment to his freedom in doing personal work with 
men outside of fraternities who were in need of 
help. Mr. Olds says, " He was a fraternity man, 
and the fraternity men liked him, but he was none 
the less, however, just as much a friend of the man 
who was ( out of things.' He made special efforts 
to make the lonesome men feel that they were 
somebody. Once, at his suggestion, two or three 
of us went around with him to some of the best 
houses in town, suggesting that the good people 
invite a few of the lonesome fellows to spend 
Thanksgiving Day with them. This resulted in a 
happy day for many, both entertainers and enter- 
tained." 

25 



1Fn /iDemorfam 

Still another classmate writes : "It was through 
Rose's personal influence that I joined Beta Theta 
Pi fraternity," which shows that he entered heartily 
into the life of the chapter. 

A classmate, who was a constant associate not 
only in studies but in his religious work, says : — 

Horace was a member of the college fraternity, but was 
not what is generally known as a fraternity man. I think no 
man of Betas of his time was so loved and respected by Beta 
men. Fear lest his fraternity connection might " queer " him 
with the rest of the boys made him think more about them 
and give more attention to the unpopular, green, unsought 
and unknown young " preps " than he did to more popular 
men. 

Mr. W. J. Parker, Secretary of the Student De- 
partment of the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tions of Chicago, writes : " My first meeting with 
Rose was at the Student Summer Conference at 
Lake Geneva during the summer of 1896. We 
were fraternity brothers, and about the first ques- 
tion he asked me was, ' What do the Beta boys in 
your college do for Jesus Christ ? ' Every relation- 
ship in life became to him an opportunity for 
spreading the knowledge of Jesus." 

It is unfortunately true that in some institutions 
now, as at the time when Rose was actively at work, 
fraternity life is supposed to be antagonistic to 
activity in organized religious work. But Rose con- 
stantly asserted his faith that men would respond to 

26 



Ht 3Beloit 

appeals to enter active religious service in college, 
whether inside or outside of fraternity houses. It 
was this conviction that led him into great dormi- 
tories, laboratories, and chapter houses where he 
could come into touch with the strong as well as the 
weak, and exalt the character of the life of Christ. 
In many an institution, fraternities among whose 
members there were no active religious leaders 
became strongholds of religious influence. And it 
is a fact of great significance that during the year 
I 9°3~4 more than a dozen fraternities in the Uni- 
versity of Michigan, where Rose served as General 
Secretary for two years, have agreed to organize 
fraternity Bible classes, and have been instrumen- 
tal in securing the co-operation of many promi- 
nent men in the university in the organized work of 
the student Young Men's Christian Association. 

Rose's habits of work were systematic of neces- 
sity, because of the large number of interests to 
which he gave himself. Mr. Olds says of this 
characteristic : — 

I remember his telling me at one time that he had over 
forty different engagements for the week ahead of him, out- 
side of his regular college work. Of such engagements he 
had an abundance commensurate with his intensity. It was 
a source of wonder that he was able to stand such an amount 
of work and yet keep so vigorously well, for his health was 
so robust as to be contagious, and none were more jovial on 
all occasions than he. 

Throughout his whole life he was conscientious to the 

27 



nn /©emortam 

last degree in the care of his health. It was only by a 
scrupulous regard for his bodily condition that he was able 
to do what he did. He made vigorous daily exercise a 
religious duty, and his cold morning bath was as regular as 
his Bible study. 

For want of dumb-bells during his travels, he 
used his walking-shoes, but he much preferred out- 
door exercise to the modern systems of muscular 
contractions and relaxations. 

The characteristic of cheerfulness which was a 
prominent factor in his success at Beloit, is thus 
described : — 

His college life was characterized by an unfailing cheer- 
fulness and a buoyant optimism. He had high ideals, and 
believed in the triumph of the best things. He had a cheery 
word for every one at all times, whether he was personally 
acquainted with them or not. The rawest country boy in the 
junior preparatory soon came to accost him familiarly as 
" Horace " or " Holly," and he never did anything to make any 
one feel uncomfortable in his presence. He was afraid of no 
one, and spoke his mind freely. Yet he never expressed him- 
self as strongly on any matter to any one as to the person 
whom he felt to be doing an injustice. If he disapproved of 
any policy of any of the professors or of any action, he went 
to them and told them so, and he generally succeeded in 
making them see things as he did. 

He enjoyed good times, and when off with young people 
he was sometimes a perfect clown, as though his natural 
exuberance of spirits compelled him to effervesce. Even 
into social meetings he carried his seeming lightness, so 
that he sometimes shocked the more conventional ones. 
But in the midst of it all, he could stop and offer up a prayer 
that touched the hearts of us all. 

28 






at Beloit 

Throughout his college course he devoted him- 
self to preaching and speaking in churches, not 
only in the college town, but in the surrounding 
country. Professor Blaisdell, under whom he did 
much of his work in his senior year, remonstrated 
with him over the amount of time devoted to this 
outside preaching. Since he could not decide to 
relinquish any of his religious work, he gave himself 
the more thoroughly to his studies in order to justify 
his position. During his vacations he served as a 
Sunday-school missionary in the employ of the State 
Sunday-school Association. 

In the midst of one of these vacation periods 
spent in organizing Sunday schools, after a hard 
day's work on his wheel, he wished to spend the 
night on the other side of the river, to be ready 
for work the next morning. He persuaded a young 
farmer at work in the field to take him and his wheel 
across in a boat. The tall rushes prevented their 
reaching the opposite shore by some little distance. 
Nothing daunted, he rolled up his trousers, stepped 
out into the water, took his wheel on his shoulders, 
his shoes and bag of literature under his arm, and 
waded ashore. He went to the nearest farmhouse, 
told his errand, and asked for entertainment over 
night. The farmer answered him gruffly, saying, 
"We don't want any Sunday school in these parts, 
and you couldn't find children enough to make a 
Sunday school, and you can't stay over night." 

29 



1Tn ilDemoriam 

Horace asked if he might stay and rest a while, 
and have a bowl of bread and milk. Consent being 
given, he interested himself in the stock while the 
farmer went about doing his chores. This being 
accomplished, he invited him in to supper. Here 
Horace so won his way to the hearts of the children 
and their parents that he was not only invited to 
stay all night, but the children were promised to 
him for his Sunday school. 

It was when he was nineteen years of age, or 
early in his college course, that he made his first 
public address after a summer vacation spent in the 
organization of Sunday schools. All the churches 
of his home town united to listen to him. He 
greatly prized the commendation of the managers 
of Sunday-school work in Philadelphia, who compli- 
mented him for his unexcelled record in organizing 
schools. During one of the summers in which he 
acted as Sunday-school missionary, he sprained his 
ankle playing baseball with the children in the 
neighborhood where he was laboring. While he 
was temporarily incapacitated for his travelling-work, 
he withdrew to his father's church and organized a 
Bible class among the Christian Endeavorers. In 
that Bible class, short in actual duration, he created 
in the lives of the young people such a love for the 
study, that they have continued it to the present 
time as a regular feature of their devotional ex- 
ercises. 

3° 



Ht Beloit 

He was a man of very ready speech, and could fit 
himself into occasions quickly. One who joined 
him in his preaching tours has said : — 

He frequently went out to a schoolhouse in a neighbor- 
ing town and made a powerful gospel appeal, not without vis- 
ible results. On one occasion several of us were to go out 
to a schoolhouse with him to sing at a meeting, and Horace's 
father was to go with us to preach. We went in two convey- 
ances, Horace and another friend in the first one, and Mr. 
Rose and myself in the other. They went ahead as they 
knew the road, and as we were not acquainted with it we 
followed. By some chance the carriages became separated, 
and we made the wrong turn and so lost our way. We 
drove a considerable distance out of the way, with the result 
that we did not reach the school until an hour after the ap- 
pointed time. But we learned that the people had not suf- 
fered by our absence, for, though all unprepared, the son, 
after waiting a few minutes, had taken the matter into his 
own hands, and had given the people such a talk as the father 
never could have done. I believe there were several con- 
fessed conversions that night. Everywhere he went he 
showed the same power. During a considerable period of 
his junior and senior years he went out regularly every Sun- 
day to a point about thirty miles distant and preached twice, 
to two different congregations. 

Perhaps the most prominent characteristic of his 
life and influence at Beloit was his power to " mix " 
with people. Mr. Olds finishes his letter with the 
following reference : — 

There was something surprising about his power over 
men. This developed very much after he left college, but 

31 



•ffn ZlDemoriam 

even in those earlier days I remember that I never had a 
good conversation with him without feeling big inside, with- 
out feeling more courageous, more determined to make the 
most of myself, more alive to the possibilities of life. He 
impressed one always, that it was a good thing to live and be 
a man among men. He was a great commoner. Like almost 
no other man in the college he was the friend of all classes, 
intimate with all. 

The Round Table of Beloit College printed an 
article after his death, of which the following is an 
extract : — 

There are very few college men who are able to be as 
active in all lines of student life as was Mr. Rose. Few have 
the capability, few the physique, to undertake such manifold 
responsibilities. A careful student, a prominent literary man, 
a conspicuous athlete, a prize orator — in all he proved him- 
self to be of great ability and a natural leader. It was, how- 
ever, as President of the Young Men's Christian Association 
that he worked hardest and accomplished most. Under his 
leadership the Association was brought to a more thorough 
organization than it had ever known before ; it gained a 
standard of effective service and an impetus for work that 
has ever since been felt. He led the men in personal work ; 
by doing so he showed the men how to perform this most im- 
portant service. He never asked another man to do what 
he himself refused to perform, thus proving himself a true 
and worthy leader. By his enthusiasm and earnestness he in- 
spired men for Christian work. He was the first to call to- 
gether the men for the daily prayer-meetings ; he maintained 
them by his loyalty and faith. Every man was made to feel 
a responsibility for the religious and moral tone of the col- 
lege. Mr. Rose did one of the hardest things in the world ; 

12 



Ht Beloit 

he lived a blameless life in every particular, before his fel- 
lows. He was the beau ideal of many an under-class man. 

For some years Mr. Rose had been looking toward the min- 
istry as the place where he wished to serve his Master and his 
fellowmen. His life in college was so directed that every ex- 
perience might avail to make him strong in this lifework. 
During a part of his senior year in college he preached every 
Sunday in two small villages in the northern part of this 
county He secured a wonderful hold upon the lives of 
these country people, leading them to higher planes of living 
and thinking, just as he had led his associates in college. 
No little child was ever passed unnoticed ; no unbeliever ever 
spoke slightingly of him ; many became better men and 
women because of this preacher's interest and constant solici- 
tude about their soul's salvation. 

Toward the end of his course at Beloit, Rose 
began to think seriously of the character of his life- 
work and the place where it should be spent. Al- 
ready he had left his impression upon the entire 
student body at Beloit. At the close of one of his 
evangelistic tours among the country towns about 
Beloit, in which Rose had done most of the speak- 
ing while four other members of the Beloit Associa- 
tion had furnished the music, he remarked to one of 
his companions as they were discussing what had 
been accomplished, " Bill, the thing that bothers 
me more than anything else is, are we giving to the 
people the real gospel? " The man with whom he 
had this conversation said, " I well remember dur- 
ing his senior year in college, how the cabinet used 
to meet every morning at ten minutes before eight for 

33 



Hn /HJemoriam 

a little session of prayer, and how, as a result of that 
year's work, we saw fifty men won to Christ by the 
time the Day of Prayer for colleges came around." 

It was at Beloit also that his appreciation of the 
value of time and his accountability to his Lord 
for its use was formed. In his work of visiting in 
the rooms of college men he systematized his calls 
carefully. But his official duties in the Association 
were so heavy that he was obliged to curtail his ef- 
forts in this direction. " There was an expression 
he often used," says a classmate, " as he excused him- 
self after a jolly chat. ' No, fellows, this is mighty 
fine, but I must be doing something profitable. , " 

He had now reached the point where he was 
able to differentiate between the things that were of 
greatest importance and those which were only of 
second importance. This spirit he carried with him 
to the end. 



34 



Iowa an& flDicbtgan ^Universities 

CHAPTER III 

AT IOWA AND MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITIES 

WHAT the pastor of a church is to his 
people, the general secretary of a stu- 
dent Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion is to the students of a college or university. It 
is doubtful whether any position has ever been created 
in any branch of student life which, when properly 
filled is of such value to student life as the general 
secretaryship. The secretary is not only a pastor, 
but he is in a very real sense a general and director 
of large forces of organized Christian workers in a 
field whose needs are peculiarly great, and in which 
results are promptly achieved. 

It was natural that Rose should be considered a 
candidate for the office of general secretary in some 
institution, since his leadership as president of the 
Beloit Association had been attended with such 
marked success. He possessed the qualifications of 
zeal and enthusiasm in spiritual things. He was 
distinguished as a personal worker, and was able to 
raise the standard of Christian ideals in an institu- 
tion by winning athletes and other leaders of student 
life first to himself and then to Christian work. 
He was called during the summer of 1896 to be 
35 



Vn /IDemoriam 

general secretary of the Association at the State 
University of Iowa at Iowa City. The call forced 
him to reconsider the question of his lifework. 
Hitherto he had been leaning in his thought toward 
the Christian ministry, but his observation of the op- 
portunities afforded a pastor for actual evangelistic 
work, whether by address or by personal interview, 
had led him to feel that his ministry would be larger 
and more effective if it could be rendered as a lay- 
man in some religious organization where a layman's 
training could be used to advantage. He called 
upon many of his friends for counsel before accept- 
ing the call as general secretary. After protesting 
that he was not fitted to take upon himself such a 
responsible work, he accepted, believing that the 
experience of one year in the office would be help- 
ful in reaching his final conclusion regarding his 
lifework. 

Professor Isaac A. Loos, holding the chair of 
political economy in the college of liberal arts at the 
University of Iowa, was chairman of the committee 
responsible for his call. He writes : — 

In the summer of 1896 the officers and advisory commit- 
tee of the Young Men's Christian Association were looking 
about for a secretary who could bring the Christian organiza- 
tions of the University into more immediate touch with the 
personnel of the entire University. The Christian Associa- 
tion, a number of us felt, had become isolated. It had 
come to be an institution that stood by itself rather than for 
the entire University. To accomplish the specific w T ork in 

36 



fowa an& flDicbtsan mntversittes 

hand, Mr. C. C. Michener and John R. Mott, then actively 
connected with the general direction of the Young Men's 
Christian Association work in the colleges, recommended 
Horace W. Rose of Beloit College, Wisconsin. Mr. Rose 
came among us and took hold of the work with intelligence, 
sympathy, and vigor, and accomplished for the association the 
very thing we had hoped for in the course of a year. Mr. 
Rose was possessed of the spirit of what is sometimes called 
the new humanity. To him all men were worthy and worth 
while. Personal differences and selfish interests were by him 
easily subordinated to a general interest. He was devoted to 
the spiritual and moral welfare of men as well as to their 
social pleasures and intellectual development. He had a fine 
sense of the relative value of all of these qualities. He met 
men readily, easily, and effectively. No one doubted his sin- 
cerity and his breadth of sympathy. He always thought of 
himself last and of his work first. He is remembered as an 
effective administrator, genial friend, and true man. 

The Round Table at Beloit commented upon 
his decision to enter association work as follows : — 

The perfection of the organization of the Young Men's 
Christian Association and its deep spiritual work came to the 
knowledge of the International Committee. These things 
and in addition the remarkable personality of Mr. Rose as 
shown at the summer conference at Lake Geneva, led the 
committee to look upon him as an invaluable man for broader 
work in this field. Consequently, after his graduation in 
1896, he was asked to take charge of the College Association 
of the State University of Iowa at Iowa City. After carefully 
considering the call, and deciding that for the present his minis- 
try must be to college men, he accepted. 

The records of his work at the University of Iowa 
37 



Un flDemortam 

are few. They are sufficient, however, to show that 
the same characteristics which made him effective 
at Beloit, were fitting him for the difficult task of 
general secretary in this great university. 

The following letter from Professor J. J. Louis, 
Superintendent of the Public Schools at Harlan, 
Iowa, and a prominent leader in Christian work at 
the university during the period of Rose's service, 
describes the character of his work well : — 

The first I knew of Rose was when I entered the Asso- 
ciation building on my return at the beginning of my sopho- 
more year. I was not a stranger there. Mr. Rose saw me 
enter the door, and knowing that he had not seen me before, 
he came toward me with extended hand to grasp mine as he 
said in his rich bass voice, " My name is Rose. I'm very glad 
to meet you. I hope to see a great deal of you around the 
Association headquarters." 

He began a social campaign, and won a majority of the 
students to himself and the Association by his Christian 
spirit of good fellowship and magnanimity. He was 
broad, — not in a sense that he would accept any or all opin- 
ions, but in that he would not allow differences over non-es- 
sentials to mar his work. 

He occupied a large place in the affections of the fellows. 
He sang in the Glee Club and one of the choirs, was manager 
of the track team — in fact, he came nearer touching the life 
of the student body than any man who has been general sec- 
retary before or since his time. He inaugurated the giving 
of socials to classes and to colleges, and brought all depart- 
ments in close touch with each other. 

His year was one of preparation rather than of special 
results. Had he remained, he would have changed the 

38 



flowa a^ /BMcbfgan Universities 

Greek-letter fraternities from their attitude of opposing the 
Association to that of thorough support and co-operation. 
He was a Greek, and had the tact to win them completely 
without antagonizing them. Thoroughly religious, he realized 
and asserted that college men were not to be won by " Salva- 
tion Army methods." 

He was quite what was needed at Iowa, — a social force 
respected by all, broader than any clique or society. There 
were several conversions during his administration, but the 
uplift that was greatest was in the general spirit of confidence 
and hopefulness which his leadership, religious faith, and fer- 
vor inspired. 

Late in the spring of 1897, Rose took up again 
the consideration of his lifework. He formed the 
ambition to enter upon the work of a foreign mis- 
sionary as an Association secretary in some non- 
Christian land, with India as his choice. On sev- 
eral occasions he went over the ground with his 
father, as well as with other friends. The humility 
of his daily life is shown by the strong feeling which 
he had of his disqualification, a feeling which found 
expression in such words as, " I am not fit to be a 
minister." His fear that he would be limited in his 
personal approach to men by a theological training 
and the standards of pulpit work, had much to do 
with his final choice. To him the most effective 
way of leading people into the Christian life was not 
public address or platform work, but rather personal 
interviews on occasions which he himself purposely 
made. He was strongly attracted by Association 

39 



1Tn /iDemorfam 

work, since in it great emphasis was laid upon per- 
sonal work and the organization of classes to train 
men for such service. * 

He shared the belief held by Henry Clay Trum- 
bull, expressed in his book entitled " Individual 
Work for Individuals," that personal work was the 
best method of leading a large number into Chris- 
tian life and the church. " Reaching one person at 
a time is the best way of reaching all the world in 
time. Reaching one person at a time is the best 
way of reaching a single individual. Therefore, 
seeking a single individual is the best way of win- 
ning one person or a multitude to Christ. The world 
is made up of individuals. Christ longs for individ- 
uals to be in his service, therefore he who considers 
Christ's love or the world's needs will think most of 
individuals and will do most for individuals." He 
often said, however, that he wanted to get closer to 
men than the pulpit ; but while he believed in this 
principle, he did not neglect public work or prepara- 
tion for it, for it was through his addresses that he 
gained a hearing which made his personal work 
effective. He had already learned at Beloit and 
the University of Iowa, the truth in the statement 
by Bossuet, the great French preacher, quoted in 
Trumbull's book : "It requires more faith and cour- 
age to say two words face to face with one single 
sinner than from the pulpit to rebuke two or three 
thousand persons ready to listen to everything on 

40 






fl owa an& /HMcbtgan TIlntx>ersities 

condition of forgetting all." His decision to enter 
upon Association work was reached prayerfully ; but 
when he had once recorded his purpose, he ex- 
pressed a joy which sent him into his next year of 
service with abounding vigor and consecration. 

Before the close of the spring term at the Univer- 
sity of Iowa he was called to be general secretary 
of the newly organized Young Men's Christian 
Association at the University of Michigan. The 
circumstances attending the call to the work in 
Michigan caused him to consider the field with care 
before accepting. For many years the Students' 
Christian Association of the University of Michigan 
had existed as the only voluntary religious organi- 
zation doing work among students. It had with- 
in its membership both young men and young 
women, and was not affiliated with the International 
Committee of the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion. 

The position to which he was called was that of 
leader of a small group of men who had withdrawn 
from the older society and had organized a Young 
Men's Christian Association to be affiliated with the 
International and State Associations. The decision 
to start a separate organization was reached only 
after hours, if not days and months, of prayerful de- 
liberation. But the determination of a few men was 
so strong that nothing short of a large effort was 
deemed feasible. They therefore called Rose as 

4i 



Un /Remorfam 

their general secretary, and invited him to visit the 
University to review the situation. 

It is said that on the occasion of his first visit 
there were a score or more of faithful men on whom 
chief reliance was to be placed in developing the 
new work. A certain element of persecution had 
entered into their plans which forced them to much 
prayer. This was the salvation of their enterprise. 
These men met Rose in a room, and for many hours 
consulted with him over the outlook. There seemed 
still to be some doubt regarding the wisdom of cer- 
tain steps to be taken. It was proposed that those 
who favored advance should assemble on one side 
of the room, and those who favored giving up the 
effort should remain on the other side. All but one 
or two agreed to undertake the new work, and from 
that day the Association grew in spiritual power and 
in numbers rapidly. 

Judge V. H. Lane, of the Law Department of the 
University of Michigan, who for many years has 
been a counsellor of the Association at the Univer- 
sity of Michigan, writes as follows regarding his first 
acquaintance with Rose and his work during the 
two years of his general secretaryship : — 

I knew Mr. Rose but a short time, having found him 
here as general secretary when I came to connect myself with 
the teaching force of the University, in October, 1897. He 
was struggling with great wisdom and most deeply conse- 
crated zeal and industry to build up the University Associa- 

42 



Howa an& /HMcbiaan XHnfversities 

tion then recently started. As I think of it now, I do not 
recall that I have ever known a man so successful as a worker 
in such a field. His sweet spirit, real manliness and earnest 
sympathy, bound men to him till he led them to his Master or 
gave them a better conception of life. 

The secret of his power (but it was no secret, for he in 
season and out of season was continually acknowledging that 
it was not he who wrought, but Christ which strengthened 
him) was first his rare modesty which obtruded never, and 
never held him from any path of Christ ; and second, the 
complete consecration of the great gifts God had given him, 
to the service of the Giver. Few men have ever lived nearer 
to God than he. You ask for " striking incidents," if any I 
recall in his work among us here. Doubtless there are many, 
but the particular incident of his Christian work was lost in 
his continuous, persistent and. faithful service with individuals 
and groups of individuals which knew no particular hour or 
place, but only an opportunity, and which was likely never to 
be known save over yonder, except as it shone out from lives 
here. Would that the world had many more like Horace W. 
Rose! 

The rapid growth of the Association at the Uni- 
versity was observed first in the Bible study depart- 
ment. Not only were larger numbers being enrolled 
month by month, but the system of Bible study was 
being perfected so that there was continuity and pro- 
gression. Mission study was started and developed, 
and within a short time after Rose left the Univer- 
sity, practically all the men volunteers in the Univer- 
sity were members of the Young Men's Christian 
Association. Personal Workers classes were organ- 
ized, and many men were led into the Christian life 

43 



An /IDemoriam 

as a result of the new spirit of aggression engen- 
dered. 

Professor George P. Coler, holding one of the 
Bible Chairs at the University of Michigan, 
writes : — 

I am very glad to express my appreciation of the char- 
acter of Mr. Rose and of the great work he did among stu- 
dents at Ann Arbor. He was a man of good ability, choice 
spirit, and strong character. The most marked characteristic 
of his Christian life was his complete consecration to the 
work of Christ. His personal work among students of the 
University of Michigan was intelligent, untiring, and very ef- 
fective. I have been in Ann Arbor for nine years, and dur- 
ing that time no other Christian worker among the students 
has accomplished so much by personal work. By his work 
and his life, he had the power of inspiring all who came in 
touch with him, and the University Young Men's Christian 
Association, under his leadership, became a great source of 
Christian activity and social, moral, and spiritual influence. 

In the early days of the student movement the 
Association was viewed with solicitude by some 
pastors who felt that it would result in drawing men 
from church work. While this feeling has been dis- 
pelled very largely in recent years and the position 
of the Association as a remarkably powerful arm of 
the church has been demonstrated, the following 
letter from Rev. J. W. Bradshaw, now pastor of the 
First Congregational Church at Oberlin, Ohio, but 
then at Ann Arbor, Michigan, will be read with 
interest : — 

44 



tfowa an& flDicbtgan ^Universities 

The coming of Mr. Rose to Ann Arbor marked an epoch 
in the religious life of the University of Michigan. Under 
his leadership, the Young Men's Christian Association, which 
had been organized some time before, but was still in feeble 
condition, soon developed a vigorous life. This was not 
without its wholesome effect upon the other religious organi- 
zations of the University. 

Through his personal relations with the student body in 
general, Mr. Rose also exerted an influence which was far- 
reaching and powerful. By his geniality of spirit, his genuine 
manliness, his interest in athletics and his own attainments as 
an athlete, he won the good- will of the University men, and 
by his outspoken but simple and unaffected loyalty to his 
Master, he commanded their respect both for himself and for 
that Christian discipleship which he represented. 

Aggressive in spirit, fertile in resource, interested in pro- 
moting the kingdom of Christ in the community at large, as 
well as within student circles, and yet modest and unassum- 
ing, he soon won for himself the esteem and affectionate re- 
gard of the pastors of Ann Arbor, with some of whom his 
relations speedily developed into those of warm friendship. 

It was with regret that we parted with him as he was 
called to another field of work, and with sorrow inexpressible 
that we learned of the sudden termination of his so useful 
and promising career. 

Mr. H. J. McCreary, who succeeded Rose as 
general secretary in the fall of 1899, wrote a letter 
to Horace in October of that year, describing the 
opening of the fall session. His reference to Bible 
study proves how effective Rose had been in laying 
foundations. 

God is good to us here at Ann Arbor in blessing our 
efforts. We now have one hundred and three men enrolled 

45 



In /IBemoriam 

in Bible study, seventy in the Life of Christ, nineteen in the 
Acts and Epistles, five in Old Testament, and nine in John, 
exclusive of leaders. Last Thursday one hundred and sixty- 
four men were voted into membership. At the meeting yes- 
terday (Helm, speaker), $160.85 were pledged for Beals' out- 
fit. We hope by personal effort to double that amount. 

That the work at Iowa City was not forgotten is 
shown by many letters to friends while Rose was at 
the University of Michigan. Mr. J. C. Prall had 
become the leader at Iowa City. Rose in the mean- 
time had become not only general secretary of the 
University of Michigan, but also a special field agent 
for the Michigan State Committee. During one of 
his trips away from Ann Arbor he wrote the follow- 
ing letter : — 

My dear Johnny : 

You have been in my thoughts a good deal lately, and 
here goes for an Hello ! I hope that you fellows are 
getting on splendidly and flying colors at top mast. I shall 
always feel that a large part of my life and energy was left at 
Iowa City. It has often seemed to me that if I had some 
" dough " I should like nothing better than to get the work at 
S. U. I. well established. . . . Johnny, I tell you that mar- 
ried life is a great thing, if you get a woman with her heart 
set on the best things. My wife is the most consecrated being 
I have ever known, and we are just going to grow more and 
more in grace as the days and weeks pass. . . . 

Well, old fellow, I wish the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation every possible blessing, and you too. Remember me 
to Call and Fred Bailey. Speak a kind word to any of the 

46 



flowa an& /BMcbtaan TDlnfversltfes 

old friends, but most of all to Mrs. Brown. She is a whole- 
hearted, kind, helpful woman. 

Good-bye, Johnny, 

ROSE. 

It was during his service at Ann Arbor that he 
developed thoroughly his system of personal work. 
The basis of his scheme was his own personal re- 
lationship with men. The next most important 
factor was a system of grouping a few men for prayer 
and the study of the Bible. The secret of his 
powei in getting men to do personal work was his 
own implicit obedience to the claims of Christ, and 
his sense of obligation to tell other men about 
Him. " He showed the same enterprise," says a 
Michigan man, " while about his Father's business 
that the most successful man gives to his personal 
affairs. It was this diligence in his business of 
serving the Lord that shamed and at the same time 
inspired me." 

Undoubtedly also, his genuine cheerfulness was a 
large factor in his influence on his associates in 
Christian work and those for whom they labored. 
Another student who had known him at the Summer 
Conference at Lake Geneva says : — 

I might mention his spirit shown in our camping at Lake 
Geneva. He was always the warm-hearted, big-hearted com- 
panion, ready to jump in swimming, ready to take his Bible 
and sit with you for a warm heart-to-heart talk on " better 
things." His hearty laugh sounded from the ball field, from 

47 



An flDemorfam 

the terraces, from the tent, everywhere, and the fellows knew 
that Rose was there, and where he was there was something 
" doing." 

His ability to approach men was often noticed by 
those who coveted the same power. By making it 
his business to call on many men each week in their 
rooms for a chat of a few minutes' duration, this 
characteristic of his work became natural to him. 
He went even into places commonly closed to other 
men, as to the laboratories during class hours, and 
into shops and other places where students congre- 
gated. This privilege was extended even to the dis- 
secting rooms of the medical school, and it was not 
uncommon for him to look for his man there when 
he could not find him elsewhere. 

The administrative side of the Association claimed 
much of his attention, but he constantly sought to 
diminish the number of demands upon his time 
within the office, outside of his regular office hours, 
in order that he might give the more time to his per- 
sonal work, which had now become systematic. Fre- 
quently he had as many as forty extra engagements 
a week, not counting the personal interviews by 
appointment. His sympathy and wisdom as a coun- 
sellor became so well known that students sought 
him for interviews when they were in trouble over 
many questions. A fellow secretary writes : — 

He was possessed in large measure of that rare grace 
of the Spirit, a genuine love for souls. When he became 

4 8 



1Towa anfc /HMcbiaan THntY>ersitfes 

general secretary of the Association at the University of 
Michigan, the rooms were soon filled with men who came to 
him to talk about the problem of personal righteousness. 
One day, being very tired, he left word at the Association 
Rooms that he would take a day off for rest. He went to 
his room and prepared for a quiet afternoon. Soon the door- 
bell rang and, one after another, twenty-two men called, hav- 
ing searched him out that they might talk with him about 
Christ. I asked him how he accounted for this unusual 
occurrence. " O ! the fellows know that I am interested in 
them. I have called on all of them in their rooms and 
opened up the subject, and now when they are in trouble 
they come to me." 

He was the most constant personal worker I had ever 
known. He did not suddenly become interested in a man's 
welfare when some special meeting was approaching, but he 
was always at it. It was a principle of his life. 

At the University of Michigan he set aside the hours be- 
tween i and 6 p.m. for social intercourse, which with him 
always led up to direct personal work. I once stopped with 
him at a large summer hotel. The first night he put him- 
self on speaking terms with the colored bell boys. The next 
day I saw him in a secluded corner with them singing a 
lively song and dancing a jig. Afterwards he talked with 
each one of them regarding his relation to Christ ; and when 
he left, you should have seen Rose's face as each boy clam- 
bered on the platform of the train to bid him an affectionate 
farewell ! 

His responsibility for the men that he helped did 
not end with the first conversation, for he kept a little 
note book in which he entered the names of those 
with whom he had interviews. To these he wrote 
letters if he was so situated that he could not call 

49 



An jflDemoriam 

upon them. Early in the fall of the year when he 
was at Cornell, he said, " Those last days in Michi- 
gan were crowded so full of other things that I 
could not get time to see all the fellows who had 
left their names with me, saying that they would 
call at any time, day or night, week days or Sun- 
days, to talk over religious matters. There were 
about twenty such on my list when I left I have 
tried to keep track of them, and am still corre- 
sponding with them." 

During the week of illness before he was re- 
moved to the hospital, he said to one of the students 
at Cornell, " My work is not finished up yet. There 
are those twenty men who wanted interviews at 
Michigan. I have not seen them all come to Christ 
yet." 

In making his reports to the International Com- 
mittee, of work done under the Michigan State 
Committee, there was constantly kept in the fore- 
ground his ambition to lead young men to an inti- 
mate relationship with Jesus Christ. In one of 
these reports he wrote, " I wish that the leading of 
the Lord's hand might be seen as it was by me 
going among the colleges of the state. I wish that 
scores of men pledged to the Morning Watch and 
daily Bible study, increased numbers for Lake 
Geneva, two men won to Christ, and many asking 
11 Lord, what wilt Thou have me do ? " might speak 
for the work of this visit, rather than the facts as 

5° 



Uowa an& ZlDicbigan Universities 

they are laid before you. Without exception, the 
committee men, chairman, officers, and members are 
crying, " Come over to Macedonia and help us to be 
more skilful in doing the Master's work." 

His ability to discern real conditions and to dis- 
tinguish them from pretensions, is shown by the 
report of a visit during May, 1898, to one of the 
large state universities in the Middle West. Under 
the section of the report entitled " Meetings held," 
he said : 

No. 2. The president was sore and sat on nearly every- 
thing, but we got them committed to organize committee 
work, regular cabinet meetings, and more of God and prayer, 
and less of man and " what I think " in the work. 

No. 3. Conference with chairman to outline work and 
with to cheer him up and call him down. 

The trouble here is that everything else comes before the 
Lord's work. The men do not feel any responsibility. I 
asked the president to go to the men and pray with them 
over it. He said, " I'll think about it." 

Rose was married to Miss Suzetta Rosenblatt on 
January 3, 1898, during his first year at the Uni- 
versity of Michigan. He describes the first sight of 
his future wife in the following language : — 

" The first time I ever saw Mrs. Rose was out 
in one of the poorest sections of Beloit. I was 
walking out that way and saw a neat little cart 
in front of an old house or shanty. Wondering 
what that smart turn-out was doing at such a place, 

Si 



1fn /iDemoriam 

I went up to the window and looked in, and there 
was i Zet ' down on the floor in the midst of a lot of 
children, rolling the oranges around that she had 
brought them. I thought to myself that I would 
like to know that girl, and sought an opportunity to 
get acquainted with her." Throughout the few 
years of married life, even during the months of 
most serious illness of his wife, near the time of his 
death, the deepest affection marked their life to- 
gether. Mrs. Rose entered most heartily and 
prayerfully into the inner life of his work, and ac- 
companied him many times on his tours, going even 
so far as to the Pacific Coast. His letters, written 
during the years of travel as an International Secre- 
tary, are filled with most tender references to her 
great devotion to him and his work. 



52 



ifall Uerm among WLcstevn Colleges 



CHAPTER IV 

A FALL TERM AMONG THE COLLEGES OF 
THE WEST 

THE call from the General Secretaryship at 
the University of Michigan to the position 
of Student Secretary of the International 
Committee for the West, came as a natural con- 
sequence of Rose's work. At no point in his life 
did his spirit of humility shine more brilliantly than 
now, when he was confronted with the largest 
opportunity for Christian service which could be 
afforded to any man. In a letter addressed to one 
of his fellow-secretaries, he said : " The Inter- 
national Committee must be hard up for men. It 
is a big come-down from Michener to common clay 
like me." The February issue of The Intercollegian 
for 1901, commenting on his death, says: "The 
place of responsibility, which to some might have 
been cause for pride, was to him a source of con- 
stant humility, because he thought he had so little 
to offer for so large a work." 

Nevertheless his personal characteristics and his 
peculiarly valuable training as General Secretary for 
three years at two large state universities, fitted him 
preeminently for the important post of travelling 
secretary. Henceforth he was to be an apostle to 

53 



ITn /iDemoriam 

the colleges and universities of the Western States, 
between the Mississippi and the Pacific Coast. 
Little did he, or those who took the responsibility of 
calling him, realize at the beginning of the year the 
providential character of the call or the stored-up 
spiritual energies which were to be released through- 
out the student life of the West. Much of the 
material which follows has been taken from the 
letters addressed by Rose to his fellow-secretaries 
in the office of the International Committee, or to 
those who, like himself, were privileged to travel 
among the colleges of other sections of the North 
American continent. 

To a friend who had given his life to foreign 
missions in Africa, he sends the following note 
early in his first month of service : 

September i, 1899, on tne train. 
My dear Wilmer : 

It has been some time since your good letter came. I pray 
that the dear Father may have His way in your life, and that 
through your devotion and consecration, many of the precious 
souls in dark Africa may be won to Jesus Christ as their 
Saviour and Lord. May these last few months of this 
century witness a marvelous manifestation of the King's 
power throughout the world. He grows dearer every day as 
he leads us through privileges and difficulties. Following 
Him, we go in and out and find pasture. How we long for 
power to present the claims of the dear Master in such a way 
as to influence those whom we meet. I feel very needy 
myself. Surely in this great Western College field there is 
need of a man through whom the spirit of God has free 

54 



jfali Uerm among Western Colleges 

course. I must be very humble and cultivate a more inti- 
mate acquaintance with Himself. . . . Charles Tompkins is 
President of the Band (at the University of Michigan), and 
so we can be sure of good work there this year. Jno. Raab 
is making a fine President for the Association. We feel that 
he and McCreary will make a good team. After all, the only 
good teams are those that lean heavily on the everlasting 
arms. 

This fall we are laying special stress on the need of 
spiritual awakenings in our colleges. The Lord give me 
grace to speak and counsel with awful power. Oh, that these 
students may be won to own Him Lord of Lords. My heart 
is almost breaking over these lost sheep, but His grace is 
sufficient even for these. 

Come in and see us. We are a long ways apart, but it is 
only a little way "by the throne." Remember the words of 
the Lord Jesus, how he said, " Peace I leave with you, my 
peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto 
you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. ,, 
Prayerfully and earnestly, 

ROSE. 

From September 20 to 22 he visited the State 
University of Kansas at Lawrence. In making his 
report to Mr. H. P. Andersen, at the office of the 
International Committee in New York, he names as 
the result of his visit : 

Started union Bible classes. 

Got Advisory Board to raise needed money. 

Got several men to make a scientific fight to overcome. 

It is the custom of the Executive Secretary at 
the office of the International Committee to write 
letters introducing travelling secretaries to the 

55 



1Fn /iDemoriam 

officers of the associations to be visited. Mr. An- 
dersen wrote to Rose early in September, submitting 
to him a copy of the proposed letter. The follow- 
ing reply was sent : 

On the train, Champaign to Chicago, 
September 25. 
My dear Andersen : 

Glad to get your letter. In regard to the office announce- 
ment, — that's all right. I suppose the " favored in securing" 
and " successful experience" go with the job, and so I regis- 
ter no protest. We had a marked blessing at Champaign, 
6 or 7 men owning Christ as Saviour and Lord for the 
first time. Dillon is a brick, — General Secretary there. 
They're counting upon about 350 intercollegians, 125 men in 
Bible study, and an " aggressive, progressive, intelligent, 
habitual, personal work. Go to now ! " 

This will be a week of great privilege and great responsi- 
hility. Come, spirit, come. 

His comment on his visit to the Agricultural 
College at Lansing, Michigan, September 27-28, is : 
" Helped to clean out some lives." From this point 
he proceeded on his westward tour. At his own 
college at Beloit, Wisconsin, he writes : " Stirred up 
a hornets' nest in one of the fraternities, which is 
having the effect of cleaning things out." He 
speaks further of this visit in the following letter to 
Mr. Andersen ; 

Lincoln, Nebraska, October 16, '99. 
You need not be told that your letter was welcome. . . . 
Since I have seen you, have been in Beloit. Three men 

56 



fall Ucxm among Western Colleges 

accepted Christ there. Bible study has more than doubled 
over last year. 

At Madison Sunday, two men accepted Christ, and nearly 
fifty enlisted for Bible study. 

The progress here at the University (Lincoln) has been 
very marked, and we have more than ioo men in Bible 
classes, and are still enrolling them. To-morrow we have a 
committeemen's tea and a gospel service. Haven't had 
time to play marbles yet, and so my reports are still back. 
Ask White to remember me in prayer. 
Cordially, 

ROSE. 

Rose spent the days from October 23 to 25 at the 
State University of Missouri, situated at Columbia. 
This visit seems to have taken strong hold on his 
sympathies, for he wrote an unusually full report 
and accompanied it by a long letter : 

Columbia, October 25. 
My dear Andersen : 

Wish we could be together for an afternoon about now. 
Would like a good long talk with you. How one craves 
power in the face of all this indifference and willfulness and 
selfishness and sin, — and yet at the same time such ready 
response to the claims of the Master. Oh for power to hold 
up the Christ with living power ! Oh that this work may be 
done in the knowledge of the Eternal One ! We crave the 
free course of the Holy Spirit through us. Have just come 
from the local chapter of our fraternity — good fellows — but 
without much care for the Will of God concerning their 
lives. The hope is that the presentation of higher ideals may 
drive them to sober reflection. 

There has been such an impetus given to the work out 

57 



fn /IDemoriam 

here that it is steadily advancing this year. Surely Mich, 
did a wonderful work. All these men out here love him. I 
am thankful, 'though, that they seem to have hearts large 
enough to take in two. 

Surely this work is one of great privilege. It is rich in 
opportunities to talk with men about the mission-field, perhaps 
not in a set address, but in every school there is a chance to 
present some striking evidence of missionary work, and its 
claims on college men. We meet to-night some earnest men 
who want to be willing to go, and do, and be what He would 
have them be. 

To-night we have a Gospel service. It looks like rain, 
but my faith is strong that some men will be saved. 

This work surely calls for a man of power and grace. 
Pray God that I may be such a man. It has never for 
a moment ceased to seem strange to me that such a trust has 
been given to me. Sometimes when I see the greatness of 
the opportunity I could wish myself back at Ann Arbor, 
but I am sure that God will give needed grace. How 
I long to burn for Him so brightly that men cannot resist 
His claim. " Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit." 

Cordially, 

ROSE. 

His report of the results of these three visits 
illustrates some of the obstacles which he en- 
countered day by day, as he went from college to 
college : " Notable answer to prayer. Meeting was 
called for seven to eight o'clock. At six it began to 
rain and kept it up. Half-past six to seven a meet- 
ing of Dormitory Club of one hundred and fifty was 
called, and to cap the climax a football demonstra- 

58 



jfail Ucvm among Western Colleges 

tion, on account of a great victory, was announced 
in the same room in which the meeting was to be 
held. Yet men came — one hundred — and five or 
six made Jesus King." He then wrote : 

i. Interested some athletes in the Y. M. C. A. 

2. Talked Association work to Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. 

3. Removed opposition to General Secretary's playing 
football. 

4. Some men quit profanity. This was very common 
here. 

5. A doubter joined the church. 

6. A man thought to be an infidel comes out clear cut for 
Christ, not one of the five or six before mentioned. 

From Columbia he went to Westminster College 
at Fulton, Mo., where he spent October 26th and 
27 th. It is apparent that on this occasion his knowl- 
edge of fraternity life was enabling him to come into 
social relationship with many men who were not 
associated with the leaders of Christian work. His 
comments on this visit were : 

Helped some men to begin to struggle. 
Spent much time in interview with fraternity men. 
Two out of three fraternities here want their men to be 
Christians. 

From Fulton he went to Fayette, Missouri, the 
seat of Central College. At this point the religious 
work seems to have been in fairly good condition, 
for he closes with this characteristic thought. " An 
Association with a good record. Every year they 

59 



Hn /iDemoriam 

lead several to Christ. Though the organization is 
not the best, they get things done. They're praying 
men." 

On October 30th he visited Warrensburg Normal 
School at Warrensburg, Missouri, where as a result 
of his work eleven men professed conversion. His 
comment is, " The Lord blessed us richly here. 
Eleven men made their first confession ; some other 
men have decided to be clean men. God worked 
in mighty power and kindled the purpose of aggres- 
sive work." 

Kirksville, Mo., November 1. 
My dear Andersen : 

It is always a privilege to find a few minutes which can be 
used in writing letters, and especially when a fellow's heart is 
filled with longings. This morning my heart reaches out 
with great yearning for these college men here in the West. 
Oh for the power of God with great fullness ! 

This campaign of ten days has been a " fright " for heavy 
work. Late nights and night riding because of long distances 
to travel have characterized the trip, but surely God has been 
blessing the feeble efforts. How it overwhelms one — the 
great sense of need. Oh to be nothing, in the sense of being 
humble, that the dear Christ may be all. I pray that this 
hated self may be crucified with Christ, that there may be a 
new power in His service. Surely I have great cause for lov- 
ing Him, more than ever before, for during these days three 
Associations have taken up the cycle of Bible study for the 
first time and each has begun with a good number. Mem- 
bership work has received an impetus and some new members 
secured ; larger policies have been adopted. Associations are 
to be represented at the Convention, even though it's a long 

60 



t 



jfall Uerm among TRUestern Colleges 

way off from most of the colleges ; much interest has been 
manifested in the missionary work, and several men are just 
ready to give themselves. Several have dropped profanity 
and dishonesty, and scores, I believe, impurity. Some have 
taken up the quiet hour observance, and best of all, a score 
of men have made Jesus king. I tremble almost when I 
think of the possibilities. Have I done what I could ? We 
lost some anxious men at Columbia and also at Warrensburg 
through pressure of other engagements, and also through 
lack of organized personal work. I covet more and more a 
place in the prayers of those who live close to God. Enlist 
some of the men now as I go to these conventions. 

On the train, November n. 
My dear Andersen : 

Letters from " The Office " always bring renewed courage. 
To say I am glad to hear from you is putting it mildly. 

These few days since last Saturday have been very busy, 
yet very full of blessed experiences. Sunday night at Ames, 
fourteen men accepted Christ, and many more dropped some- 
thing from their life, and still others began to fight. These 
days were full of interviews, and surely this is a fruitful part of 
the work. The General Secretary has the confidence of the 
men and is very much esteemed and loved. They need such 
men at Ames, for gambling, profanity and other evils are 
there, not open as they have been, for the boys are making a 
heroic fight. Just think of boosting the membership from 
seventy to two hundred and thirty in one year. It is the 
Lord's work and marvellous in our eyes. I neglected to say 
that during Monday three more accepted Christ. 

Tuesday I went to Grinnell. That night we dwelt on 
personal problems and two more men accepted Christ, and a 
large number of whipped men declared that by the grace of 
God they would be free. I was flooded with interviews, and 
compelled to stay over till Thursday evening. Some of it 

61 



Hn /IDemoriam 

was heart-touching. Oh for the mind of Christ ! How his 
loving heart must long for these fellows who have been fight- 
ing losing battles. Oh for the energy of Paul, the fearlessness 
of Isaiah, and the love of John ! 

These deep experiences through which he had 
been passing in his evangelistic work led him to a 
most serious self-examination. Rose did not spare 
himself in these hours when he brought into review 
his own ambitions and the state of his own heart, 
for he realized that virtue must go out of the man 
who was to lead others to a Saviour Who could 
break the power of sin. After spending three days 
from the 24th to the 26th of November at the State 
University of Iowa, where he had formerly served as 
General Secretary and where eight or nine were con- 
verted, " one not clean cut," he sent his report to 
the office in New York with this footnote : 

One marked result of this visit is the consciousness that 
I've a battle on. I have got to be more humble. I must get 
low at the foot of the Cross. 

On the day following this visit he wrote to a trav- 
elling secretary in the East : 

I pray that through you he will burn a path of light in 
the Eastern colleges. It is a great privilege to remember 
each other before God in prayer. If there is any one thing I 
covet from my friends it is that they will make mention of my 
needs before the Heavenly Father. The mean little tempta- 
tions, insidious, get hold on a fellow before he knows it, pride 
and vainglory and satisfaction over things accomplished. 
Some way these things eat their way in, and we are prone to 

62 



jfall Uerm among Western Colleges 

covet the praise of men rather than the praise of God. Oh 
for grace to keep very low at the foot of the cross ! We 
meet these dear struggling fellows so often, men who admit 
that what they are working for is the approval of man. 
Rather may we hear His " Well done " when we have finished 
the work in the different colleges. Oh to be a blessing to 
Him 1 Oh that from our lives He may get glory ! Oh that 
you even more than heretofore may be His messenger among 
the more indifferent Eastern schools, empowered by the Holy 
Spirit to do the " greater things than these." 

God has been very gracious to me. It seems wonderful 
that He will use such poor, weak service in saving men and 
building them up. 

It was very kind of you to remember my mother in your 
letter. But Mrs. Rose, my Mrs. Rose, does not gain as fast 
as we had thought she would. She is very brave and cheery 
though. 

Cordially and lovingly, 

ROSE. 

So stirred was he by this visit at Iowa City, that 
he wrote also to Mr. Andersen in New York on the 
same date : 

One stubborn fellow promised to accept Christ inside of 
the next few days. And now for the power of God here. Oh 
that He would save some ! I find a peculiar joy in reporting 
things accomplished. I want you to pray that I may care 
nothing for the praise of men, only by their advice to be led 
to serve Him better. I am determined that my life may con- 
stantly grow brighter and deeper, that through me He may 
be glorified. How much help it would give me if I could be 
with you and Mott, and Taylor, and Beaver, and Hicks for a 
few days ! Yet I can be with Him who is not very far at any 

63 



Un ZlDemoriam 

time from those who love Him. " With Thee is the fountain 
of life : in Thy light shall we see light." 
Cordially, 

ROSE. 

It pained Rose to find in a college that a " gap " 
existed between the Christian and the non-Christian 
men. So much did he believe that the Christian 
men should mix up in student life that a favorite 
subject of discussion in Cabinet meeting was how 
the Christian men might be induced to enter ath- 
letics. 

On the 8th of December he visited a college in 
South Dakota and reported his observations in a 
note to a friend : 

Here in the face of unfavorable conditions, we men are 
praying for the power of God to do His work to-day. There 
is a great gap between the Christians and those who are not 
Christians, and they don't get near each other, but we are 
trusting Him and fully believing that He will break the barrier 
away to-day and get glory to Himself. We have a men's 
meeting this evening, and it is around this that our prayers are 
gathering. I trust there will be joy among the angels to- 
night, because of some who are saved from sin through 
Jesus Christ. How wonderful is His working ! 

While serving men so constantly as he was able 
to do through his travelling work, Rose was quick 
to recognize the value of a friend's counsel, espe- 
cially if it was sincerely expressed and intended to 
make him more efficient as an advocate in Christian 
work. Rose counted as one of his dearest friends 

64 



jFail Uerm amono TKIlestern Colleges 

Mr. S. M. Sayford, who for many years had been en- 
gaged in evangelistic work among the college men 
of the North American continent. On the 8th of 
December, while at Huron, South Dakota, he sent 
a letter to Sayford : 

My dear Uncle Sam : 

Let me call you Uncle Sam, or if you won't let me, I can 
do it anyway with all this distance between us. Your photo- 
graph has called up a great many happy experiences, and one 
in particular which I shall always prize, — the time you 
warned me so carefully at Geneva, and then told me that 
you loved me. Your heart is large enough to take in a great 
many men, but I am mighty glad that I am one who is in it. 
... I covet a place in your prayer life. How we need 
power 1 Cordially, 

H. W. ROSE. 

Rose found it increasingly difficult to report the 
facts about his own work to the office in New York, 
for just making the record seemed to bring tempta- 
tion to pride into his life. After his work on the 
9th and 10th of December at the South Dakota 
Agricultural College, Brookings, South Dakota, where 
ten men accepted Christ, he wrote : " I always hate 
to report numbers, because it gives me a sense of 
satisfaction which I wish was not in my life. I had 
almost said I wouldn't for a time." 

December nth and 12th were spent at Dakota 
University, with these results : 

1. Nine men became Christians. One of these is a 
" backslider reclaimed." God's grace is wonderful. 

65 



In /iDemotiam 

2. Some men gave in their names as purposing to join 

the church. 

3. Some, about eight, joined the Association. 

4. Fifteen pledged to join Bible study. 

5. Several Christian men began to fight against besetting 

sin. 

6. Personal workers enthused. 

7. I am tired after such a siege. 

Following this fruitful visit, he wrote on the 13th 
of December from Sioux Falls : 

My dear Andersen : 

I think my report says enough to show the condition here, 
but it does not show the joy and gratitude in my own life 
which I want to express to you. During these days He has 
been teaching me some great lessons, and I am sure my life 
has deepened during the times we have met in communion 
and prayer this fall. In some way the King and the beauty 
of his life are coming to mean more to me. Oh for the mind 
which was in Christ Jesus 1 I have prayed Him that this 
trip might burn a path of light in these colleges out here, and 
I feel that He has heard my prayer and the prayers of others 
who have been waiting on Him. 

The thermometer is way, way down, but the love of 
God still melts men's hearts. 

Cordially and prayerfully, 

ROSE. 

His enthusiasm for his work seemed to have no 
bounds, for on the 14th and 15th of December he 
visited another large college in South Dakota, and 
reports five conversions. " I hope these men will 
hold out. They are the ' best ones ' of the college, 
swell, and even ' sporty,' but they seem to mean 

66 



ffall TTerm among Western Colleges 

business. The line of cleavage has been very dis- 
tinct here, and we praise God for the breaking 
down of the barrier. We interested the athletes 
surely in the work." 

Again, on the 16th and 17th he visited the State 
University of South Dakota at Vermillion, and re- 
ported : 

Seven conversions. Hope they will stick. Some were 
football men. It was a manifestation of divine power. 
Some men joined Bible study. 
One or two pledged to join the church. 
I hope our meetings resulted in 

(a) More Sabbath observance. 

(b) Less profanity. 

(c) Less gambling. 

Urge to see that these men are taken care of. 

The fellows, our Christian men, have little conception 
of the worth of saving a soul. It is so in half of the 
colleges. 

The stupendous work of the fall was now near at 
an end. He had returned to his home at Evanston, 
Illinois, when he wrote for tickets to be used on his 
next trip, and apologized for adding the burden of 
procuring them to the force in the office : 

Evanston, December 21, '99. 
My dear Andersen : 

Sorry to put this burden on you, but I am unequal to it 
just now because there are two Jumbos on my hands: one, 
an examination for a degree from Beloit (don't mention this), 
and another, the effort to fill our house with sunshine. Mrs. 

67 



Hn flDemoriam 

Rose was on her back when I reached home, but is better 
now, and to-night we have had a very pleasant evening to- 
gether. So I have had to be housemaid, nurse, and cook, 
also a student at the same time. 

This critical condition of his wife's health, dis- 
covered on his return from the long trip of the fall, 
led him to consider a new policy for the winter. 
The life of a travelling secretary is a militant life, 
making serious demands on physical strength. But 
his personal physical condition seems not to have 
been considered by him. His whole thought was 
for his wife. The strain upon her caused by the 
long absence, led him to write to New York as 
follows : 

Evanston, December 23. 
My dear Andersen : 

The writing of this letter is costing me no little pain. I 
have thought it over, and talked it over with the doctor and 
with friends, and prayed over it, and always arrive at the one 
decision, that under the circumstances, a trip of more than 
eight or ten days is impossible for the present. Mrs. Rose 
was on her back when I reached home last Tuesday, and is 
practically there still. Leaving her for a period of three 
weeks or more is out of the question just now. 

It takes courage to write these facts, knowing well as I 
do how much is lacking in me as a secretary of the committee, 
this happening as it does thus early in my work, but it is a 
duty and I must be true to it. I am asking the Lord to 
make it up by the gift of special power. ... It takes lots of 
faith and courage when the sky is so dark, but underneath 
are the everlasting arms. 

Cordially and prayerfully, 

ROSE. 

68 



fall XTerm amona Western Colleges 

His last letter to New York was addressed to 
Mr. Henry White, Secretary in charge of the 
office: 

Chicago, December 23, 1899. 
My dear white Henry White : 

We want you to do up a job lot of business for us. We 
want to wish everybody in the office a Merry Christmas that 
we ought to wish a Merry Christmas. That includes Mott, 
Andersen, yourself, Fahs, and Turner, and anybody else who 
ought to come in with this job lot. Now be sure and do it 
up brown for us. A warm Merry Christmas for you all. 

Cordially yours, 

ROSE. 



69 



Un flDemortam 



CHAPTER V 

WINTER AND SPRING AMONG THE COLLEGES OF 
THE WEST 

AFTER a few days of rest with his wife at 
his home in Evanston, Rose started out 
with fresh vigor for the campaign of the 
winter. He proceeded at once to North Dakota, 
and began work at Fargo College, January 5 to 
8, from which point he reported seven conver- 
sions of men who " told me they would be Chris- 
tians, and they all intend to be, but two are nearly 
giving out. The devil is at work there." 

The consciousness that the devil was not only 
aggressive, but persistent, in his efforts to command 
the thoughts and time of college men, led him to 
dedicate his life anew to the work of breaking down 
the power of evil in the colleges which he was to 
visit. This conviction gave a ring, and an attack 
to his addresses, and a sincerity to his personal 
interviews, which continued to result in large ac- 
cessions to the churches of college towns, and the 
beginning of a winning battle in the heart of many 
men. He comments on the fact that three men 
who accepted Christ at the North Dakota State 
University, during January 8-10, did so in personal 
interview, since no opportunity could be found for 

70 



Winter ant) Spring 

a decision meeting. At this point he said also, 
that eleven men publicly resolved to join the church 
immediately, and adds the significant phrase, " some 
will." " This is surely a fertile field, and it seems 
to me a very important one. They need much 
help. They begged me, really begged me, to hurry 
back." 

At Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, he spent 
January 13-15, and in writing, commented on the 
great blessing which God had given him, in bring- 
ing five or six men into the Christian life, and two 
into church membership. " Many men have said, 
* By the grace of God I will be a pure man.' The 
members of the Beta Fraternity have knocked down 
old traditions, and come up higher. There are 
practically no difficulties here, if the men will work 
and pray. Lack of concern for fellow-students is 
the great hindrance. Nobody cares much how 
these men are living. The men have been im- 
pressed by the way God used our humble efforts." 

His righteous indignation was aroused after one 
of these visits, regarding which he wrote : 

Three or four men accepted Christ, in the meetings of Jan- 
nary 19-20. The leaders have been stirred up; some have 
begun to fight. It wore me out, such self-satisfaction and 
esteem, and such indifference. They need an Isaiah or an 
Apostle Paul to get them to doing something. The mem- 
bership is very unsatisfactory, fifty in all ; should be one hun- 
dred. We started a campaign. Regarding religious 
meetings, he said, " Weak here too ; average attendance 

71 



An flDemoriam 

about twenty, and the same twenty all the time. We recom- 
mend ' work/ " 

In a letter written on the train, January 27, to 
Mr. Andersen, he describes a college, where he was 
entertained in one of the leading fraternities, and 
where, as a result of the splendid fellowship had 
with one of the men, the entire chapter was stirred 
to its depths. One of the men, who was the best 
athlete in the State Athletic Association, and another 
led into the Christian life during his stay there, 
laid siege to the others after he had gone. He 
says : " One night they talked and prayed with three 
of the fellows until 1 o'clock, when all three ac- 
cepted Christ. At Lincoln, too, a couple of ath- 
letes said, ' I will try to be a Christian/ Four 
entered Bible study, and some have had their con- 
science quickened to the need of the battle. Surely 
God is good. How ready to answer prayer." " And 

then at we were absolutely helpless in the 

face of the indifference and selfishness, the will- 
fulness and ' bravado.' It was heart-breaking. One 
realized in a small way, the compassion in the heart 
of the loving Christ, as He looked upon the multi- 
tudes scattered abroad without a shepherd. Three 

men at and two at said they would be 

Christian men, and about two in each place entered 
Bible study. It was sad to talk to a hundred men 
earnestly, and then find only two for Bible study." 

At this point in his travel, he recorded in his note 
7 2 



Winter an& Spring 

book this prayer : " Dear Father, may there be no 
moment to-day in my life in which Thy love shall 
not be evident. Help me to-day to do what Thou 
wouldst have me. Oh, help me to follow on closely 
and energetically, with Thy love radiant in my life. 

Amen." 

After a visit to Purdue University at Lafayette, 
Illinois, on the 29th of January, he wrote on board 
the train, that eight men, " some seniors among 
them," had accepted Christ, and two men who had 
lost their faith had been brought back. " Oh for 
power to burn a path of light in these colleges for 
Christ. I am very grateful for the way He gave me 
the hearts of the men at Purdue. I shall hold up 
the Kingdom in its beauty with all the grace and 
power which He shall supply. How weak we are, 
and yet how mightily He works. My heart is filled 
with gratitude." 

At the next college, the only man led into the 
Christian life he characterized as " the captain of 
both the football and the baseball teams. He is 
a very influential man." His method of following up 
his evangelistic meetings is demonstrated by a re- 
mark contained in his report of a visit to the State 
University of Indiana, at Bloomington, on Febru- 
ary 2-4 : " Several, perhaps ten or twelve, were 
converted. These men were anchored in personal 
work, after the meeting. There will be more. 
Surely these men are rejoicing." 

73 



Hn /iDemoriam 

The deficiencies in the lives of Christian men 
were observed by Rose, with discernment Espe- 
cially acute was he in interpreting the causes of indif- 
ference, and vigorous in pleading with Christian 
men to study the Bible, in order that the mind of 
Christ might take possession of them. After the 
visit at Bloomington, where a dozen had accepted 
Christ, and one or two fraternities had given him a 
welcome with beneficial results, he wrote a letter ex- 
pressing the thoughts of his heart : 

Saturday morning, February 3, Bloomington. 
My dear Andersen : 

Surely this is blessed work. How hungry it makes a man 
to help the needy college men. We need Jesus Christ, and 
then we need Him more and more still. In some way, these 
college men who bear His name must be stirred up to put 
their heart in love alongside the heart of the student given 
up to sin. We must find more men who will live so near to 
Christ that to invite other men to accept him will seem 
natural, not only to the man who does the inviting, but also 
to the man who is invited. By this I mean that a man 
should walk so closely with Christ that it will seem natural to 
both men concerned that the matter of confessing the Sav- 
iour should be brought up. 

He rejoiced exceedingly at the word from Cor- 
nell University, that seventy-six men had been led 
into the Christian life in three days, and his joy 
found expression in the wish that all the secretaries 
of the International Committee might try to rejoice 
over each one, and thank God for each one. 

74 



TKttfnter an& Spring 

At a State Convention which he visited, Rose had 
been assigned for entertainment to one of the best 
hotels in the city. The convention was being held 
in a college town. On a previous visit to the same 
place Rose had become acquainted with a group of 
athletic men in the institution who had been greatly- 
taken with his spirit in spite of their unclean lives. 
As soon as they learned that he was in town they 
invited him to share their rooms during the conven- 
tion. He referred the matter to one or two secre- 
taries who were with him. They opposed accepting 
the invitation because they knew how heavy a strain 
would be put upon him by the work of the conven- 
tion. Their advice was that he go to the hotel 
where he could take care of himself. In spite of 
this opposition he accepted, saying, "If I can get 
down and help those men I am going to do it." 

When he entered the rooms to which he was invited, he 
found on the walls some pictures that offended his sense of 
propriety, and rebuked the fellows by saying that those would 
have to come down if he was going to stay there. They 
retorted that " he would have to take them down first." At 
college, Rose was a famous wrestler. He immediately ac- 
cepted their challenge, and one at a time threw the four men 
in succession, although two of them were much larger men. 
After the wrestling bout, he saw a baseball on the table, and 
said, " Do you men play ball ? " And they replied, " Yes, a 
little." Rose said, " I used to do some of it myself. Come 
out in the yard and I will play burn with you." And the old 
'Varsity catcher used his strong arm for the glory of God, 
and soon retired the group with puffed hands. When they 

75 



1Tn flDemoriam 

came back into the house, Rose said, " Now you can see that 
you are not the whole thing, what do you say about those 
pictures ? " Without any other words, the men took the 
offensive decorations down, and before the convention closed 
they were led into the kingdom. 

Another incident which shows his great hold on 
college men is told by Mr. E. T. Colton, who suc- 
ceeded Rose as the traveling secretary of the 
student department in the West : " He worked at a 
pace which added ten years of age to his appear- 
ance. His mother and wife at home were invalids, 
the latter only shortly surviving him. Under the 
most rigid economy and self-denial his finances 
were straightened, yet I heard a man in Knox 
College say of him, when I knew half of his nights 
were sleepless and he himself suffering an acute 
physical affliction, < He is the first Christian I ever 
saw who seemed to me to be happy.' " 

About the middle of April the state of Mrs. Rose's 
health led him to consider seriously giving up travel- 
ing work for a position as general secretary in some 
college or city association. He wrote the New York 
office from Boulder, Colorado, in the midst of a trip 
on which Mrs. Rose accompanied him, that there 
was much to encourage him and also " much to 
almost break my heart." He hoped that the con- 
templated trip among the colleges of California 
would be of benefit to her. 

It was at this time that the Board of Trustees of 

7 6 



Winter an& Spring 

the Cornell University Christian Association decided 
to look for a man who might become general secre- 
tary, devoting all his time to the work. Friends 
who knew of the desire that Rose had for a perma- 
nent residence to aid his wife in her recovery 
suggested his name to the Cornell leaders. In 
expressing his willingness to go to Ithaca and the 
reluctance which he felt in relinquishing his travel- 
ing work, he said : " How my heart yearns for an- 
other year in this Western field ! So little has been 
done, and yet God has manifested His power. But 
His will is sweet and it is our happy privilege to 
keep humble before it." At the close of another 
letter written on the 27 th of April, in referring 
again to his work for the next year, he says : " The 
thing that I feel keenly at this time is the desire 
that the dear Father will show us His plan not only 
for Mrs. Rose and me, but also for my successor." 

The part that prayer played in this year of 
abounding fruitage was most significant. Enough 
reference to the place of prayer in Rose's daily life 
has been made to show that his faith in the answer 
to prayer w r as without qualification. He gave 
special thought to his public prayers, especially 
those which opened and closed the meetings in 
which he made addresses. The one which follows 
was evidently used by him at the close of an evan- 
gelistic address on the occasion of some visit in a 
college. 

77 



1Fn /iDemoriam 

My dear Father in Heaven, I pray Thee that the past 
may be forgotten in the vast significance of this present hour. 
We see these needy men, sinful and rebellious, without 
Christ in this present world or the world to come, and are 
moved to ask great things from Thee. Forbid that we should 
limit the power of the Holy Spirit by asking for small gifts. 
Our Father, we ask Thee that men may be led to make Jesus 
King of their lives to-day, that their wills may be broken 
down and their hearts filled with love. Save some and get 
glory to Thyself. Save them for their sakes, for all that it 
will mean to them and theirs now and in years to come ; save 
them for the sake of Thy dear Kingdom which we are long- 
ing for in its fulness ; save them for the sake of the Dear 
Savior who gave Himself for them ; and save them that Thou 
mayst get glory to Thyself. And there are some Christian 
men, Dear Father, who ought to be in Bible study classes. 
Show them the power of Thy word in their struggle to da 
Thy will. May they be led to give it a place in the work of 
each day. And there are some men, Father, who have evils 
hanging to their lives. By Thy grace and saving power, set 
them free. And there are many who have no burden for 
serving Thee now — here in College. Father, show them the 
beauty of the life of service and give them grace to say, 
Here am I, send me. May this be a day of victories. May 
we Thy children come to love Thee more. May we be 
humble. May men be saved. May Christ be lifted up. 
May Thy name get glory. For Christ's Sake. Amen. 

This form, appearing in four sections, was used 
when he appealed to men to make decisions : 

(Bowed in prayer.) 

When I reflect on the meaning and the beauty and the 
significance of the Christian life, and the claim of Christ on 
our lives and what the Bible says about being Christian men, 

7 8 



XKatnter an& Spring 

I am constrained to ask you men to get a victory by His 
grace. 

And when I think of the power of the word of God to 
transform and beautify men's lives and equip men for lives 
of usefulness and service, and help them over besetting sins, 
I am constrained to ask you to get a victory in regard to 
Bible study. 

And when I think of how much we young men need the 
strong arm of the church to help us to be God's kind of a 
man, and what great opportunities the Church affords for 
Christian growth and service, I am constrained to ask you if 
there are not some whose battle lies right here. 

And when I think of the awful ravages of sin in our lives, 
some besetting sin, I am constrained to ask whether or not 
victory is ours along this line. 

The importance of personal work as a means of 
making the religious meetings of college associations 
effective was constantly emphasized by Rose in his 
travels, and also in papers prepared by him to be 
read at conferences of general secretaries and associ- 
ation presidents. One such paper has been found, 
of which the following is a part : 

Under the first head, the remark was made that it is 
desirable to have the large meeting of the Association often 
lead up to decision. It hardly seems wise that every meeting, 
or that more than one in three of the meetings, should be 
decision meetings, yet where the atmosphere is warm, and 
there is the need for victory, it is surely unwise to let go the 
opportunity of bringing men to decision. Not all men can 
lead a decision meeting. Men should be chosen partially 
with reference to this gift. How get decision? Not very 
often by a show of the hand, or by asking men to rise to their 

79 



Un /iDemoriam 

feet, but more often, in quiet, thoughtful prayer, with their 
heads bowed, urge men before God to say, " by His grace, I'll 
overcome." 

Still other men may be led to decision by the diligent 
work of the Committee and other active men at the close of 
the meeting. Once in a while we meet a man of God who is 
on his feet the moment the closing prayer is offered, asking 
one friend and another if the victory for which he has been 
hungry has at last come into his life. We have seen skillful, 
earnest, personal workers at the close of an ordinary meeting, 
lead three or four different students to a definite decision 
along definite lines. 

In regard to the work of the religious meetings, this is the 
neglected field. I carry a great burden for the ten minutes 
following the regular meeting of the Association. This regu- 
lar meeting should open numerous avenues for personal work. 
If the Committee has the subject well in hand, and if 
their hearts are aflame for victories along the line of the sub- 
ject, it is a very simple and natural thing for them to do, to 
personally talk with men at the close of the meeting in regard 
to the theme of the hour. I believe that one of the greatest 
weaknesses of our Christian work is that we fail to conserve 
the results of the regular religious meeting of the Young 
Men's Christian Association. 

Another most interesting paper was prepared by 
him on " How to get hold of men not interested in 
Association work." In most college associations a 
successful special attempt is made to lead the men 
of the freshman class into the helpful associations of 
Christian work, but it is commonly recognized that 
after this special effort is finished, there still remain 
many who have not identified themselves with Chris^ 

80 






•OGiinter an& Spring 

tian churches or associations. Rose constantly im- 
pressed upon student leaders the importance of a 
continuous aggressive campaign to reach these un- 
interested men. There are five main divisions to 
the paper, the last three being : " The men's social," 
" The judicious use of the employment bureau," and 
"Using available methods of making sentiment in 
favor of the Association." Under the last topic he 
had seven sub-divisions : 

i. Chapel talk. 

2. Use of college paper. 

3. Judicious use of IntercolUgian and much other Associ- 
ation literature. 

4. Visit of deputation men or secretary. 

5. Keeping reports before student body. 

6. Actually doing an earnest, wide-awake, aggressive work. 

7. Policy sympathetic with other college organizations. 

The chief emphasis, however, in this excellent 
paper was laid on the first two topics, which are as 
follows : 

I. Through the medium of the Bible Study Class. 

The effort to enlist men in Bible study is one of the surest 
ways to win the uninterested. Have you tried it? Several 
weeks of study together with the earnest Association men 
will overcome prejudice. May only get a few this way. But 
to win one of these cold fellows is a great victory. Here is 
an opportunity which is not used from the standpoint of the 
great problem, " How break down prejudice against organized 
Christian work ? " The battering ram process is the process 
which must be used to enlist these indifferent men. {Enlarged) 
Again, men not interested may be grouped about one or two -men 

81 



fn ZlDemoriam 

of God, men who clique together, men who are in athletics to- 
gether, fraternity men together. Here the vital difficulty is to 
find the man of God who is acceptable to all these men, and 
too much care and study cannot be expended upon this 
problem. In fact, if this group plan is to be worked, it seems 
desirable that the field should be carefully studied with refer- 
ence to supplying the man of God for any one of two or three 
groups of men who are not interested, before the men are 
consulted personally. 

II. The Visitation Work. 

(i) All college men are either hungry for or appreciate 
kindnesses shown to them in the way of calling upon them. 

(2) An immense amount of ground can be covered and an 
immense amount of work done which pays large dividends. 

(3) A committee of ten earnest men led by a consecrated 
chairman, each making two calls a week, will visit eighty men 
a month. These eighty men should be seen again and again 
until they feel friendly, not only to the men who are calling 
upon them, but also to the Association. Changing of visiting 
lists from time to time will give the uninterested men more 
chance to make friends, that is, different Association men will 
thus be given a«chance to call upon them and get acquainted 
with them. We have been talking long enough about solu- 
tions to some of these questions. This matter of visitation 
has been often spoken of, but for some reason or other, not 
many'Associations have taken it into their policy. Where it 
has been tried it pays very large dividends. 

(4) The objects of this visitation work may be numerous. 

The regular work of the committee would better be con- 
fined to enlisting the sympathy of men who are uninterested. 
Each man would visit and talk in a different way, but such 
themes as athletics, college activities in general, and the more 
recent developments of the student movement should be at 
the tongue's end of the visitor. Any recent thrilling develop- 
ment of the work in India, China, Ceylon, Japan, Scandina- 

82 



"Counter an& Spring 

via, Italy, France, Russia, — these are topics of great interest, 
and furnish the wedge for winning the man's sympathy to the 
local work. Dropping into the room soon after supper, or on 
a holiday, or in the P. M. for a short time for just a social 
visit, letting this ripen as fast as possible into a rich friend- 
ship and a relation of confidence ; this is the spirit of the visi- 
tation work, always hoping that the way will open for an 
earnest talk in regard to the Christian life. Or the further 
object of the visitation work may be to have a committee 
available who shall, through direct work themselves — but 
more especially through stirring up the members to a need of 
it — promote this habit of cultivating and developing more 
friends. " I would rather have a man tie up to me than a 
movement" The habit on the part of the members of just 
getting with another for encouragement and cheer for a few 
minutes makes the whole Association more compact. Through 
the visitation work it will also be desirable from time to time 
to round up the members on Bible study, on prayer, on the 
besetting sins, and on the matter of faithfulness to duty in 
Christian activity. 

The significance of student association work had 
grown on him steadily during the severe campaigns 
of the winter, and he voices his thought in the fol- 
lowing letter on the 8th of May, dated from Chaffey 
College, Ontario, California. 

Down here in Ontario I have been thinking just a little, 
while waiting to see the men about leaving this work. I had 
hardly realized how its significance had taken hold on me, 
but it has been a very happy and pleasant year, and I am sure 
it has been for some of the needy men whom I have had the 
privilege of knowing. I had hoped earlier in the year that in 
a humble way I might call hundreds of college men to give 
time and energy to doing the will of God as personal workers. 

83 



ITn /iDemorfam 

We can be very happy, however, in the thought that God has 
power to raise up and equip men for His work whenever there 
is need. How I love these hungry college men. 
As ever, 

ROSE. 

In a letter bearing date of May 19th, to a friend 
in the East, he said : " It pulls my heartstrings to 
have to leave this traveling work, it's full of so 
many opportunities. ,, 

The decision had been definitely made to go to 
Cornell University as general secretary. Hence- 
forth, even during the busy days of the Pacific Coast 
and Lake Geneva Summer Conference, his thought 
turned toward the new field. He had entered the 
year of service with the International Committee 
with the intention " to leave a trail of light " behind 
him, and he did it. The Inter collegian says of 
his work : " In sixty of the eighty colleges visited, 
men were converted during his stay. During the 
year he was the means of winning, personally, more 
than four hundred students to Christ. He led about 
twenty-five men to give their lives to foreign missions 
and a larger number besides to enter other forms of 
Christian work. He led over six hundred men into 
Bible study as a result of personal interviews. Ev- 
ery conversation entered into and every letter he 
wrote was inbreathed with his longing for the spirit- 
ual uplifting of college men. The whole student 
movement felt the thrill of his triumphant faith and 
ceaseless activity." 

84 



Ht Cornell 



CHAPTER VI 

AT CORNELL 

THE decision to accept the call of the Cornell 
Association came so late in the spring that 
Rose had barely time to reach the Northfield 
Student Conference late in June. About ten Cornell 
men were present as delegates, and Rose entered at 
once into intimate relationship with them all. At 
this time plans were laid for the opening of the work 
in the fall. While his chief purpose was to study 
his prospective field in company with the small hand- 
ful of leaders present at the Conference, nevertheless 
he was very largely used during the ten days among 
other delegations on the grounds. 

Throughout his life he had the habit of recording 
his prayerful meditations in writing. Robert E. Speer, 
in an article on the life of Rose printed in Forward, 
a paper widely circulated among Presbyterian young 
people, makes reference to one of his written prayers 
entered in his note book at Northfield. 

July I. 
Father, Thou hast led me into places of large privilege 
lately. I thank Thee that Thou hast counted me worthy of so 
much trust. But this morning, Father, I am conscious of the 
fact that under all this pressure which has been upon me, I 
have not found the quiet watchings with Thee. Give me a 
place in the company of those who know Thee very intimately. 

85 



Un flDemortam 

And eight days later, as the conference closed, 
Horace wrote again : 

July 9. 
The Northfield Conference is almost over. God has spoken 
here. I have been on the Mount of Vision, and I pledge God 
to be true to the vision. But perhaps two things more than 
others are stirring the very depths of my heart. I must win 
more souls. I must be instrumental in starting some revivals. 
With God's grace I will. The second is this : I have heard, 
as never before, the cry of the Indian student, of the students 
of Japan and China and Australia. 

The summer months were spent with his wife, his 
time being occupied in making her comfortable and 
in preparing for his work at Cornell. On the twenty- 
second of August he wrote to a friend from Chicago — 
"I am anticipating the work at Cornell with much 
more enthusiasm than I supposed I could under the 
circumstances. Surely, Mrs. Rose will like it as soon 
as she gets stronger." 

He had been asked to spend a few days in early 
September in conference with the Student Secretaries 
of the International Committee at Long Beach, on 
Long Island. He felt, however, that it would not be 
wise to leave his new position so soon after under- 
taking his work at Cornell, and as a consequence, 
wrote as follows : 

Of course the Conference at Long Beach would be a source 
of great inspiration to me, but that is valuable time just then 
and I must give the Cornell Association first claim. Don't 

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Bt Cornell 

forget to enlist prayer for the work there. God is very dear 
these days. • Lovingly yours, 

ROSE. 

Still again, two days later, he wrote to the same 
friend : " I shall miss the fellowship and inspiration 
of the Conference at Long Beach much. ,, He referred 
then to Mrs. Rose's condition, and stated that she 
had improved scarcely at all during the closing days 
of August. At this time he decided not to take her 
to Cornell with him, but to find a private sanitarium 
in the East where she might receive the best of care. 
His closing words of this letter were, " Be sure to 
ask lots of the men at the Conference to remember 
Mrs. Rose. The Lord will hear us tho' He tarry 
long. And have them remember me. He is very 
near to me during these days." 

In his travels Horace had spent many hours in 
the office of the Student Department at the Young 
Men's Christian Association Building of Chicago, 
especially in conference with his friend William J. 
Parker, the secretary in charge of student work. 
He writes : 

" In his tender care for his aged mother and in 
his tireless search for a cure for his invalid wife, 
Rose showed qualities that but few saw. Once when 
it was urged upon him that his health required that 
he take time for exercise, he said, ' Yes, I know I 
ought to, but Sue takes a nap every afternoon and I 
can't bear to have her wake up and find me gone.' 

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Hn /iDemoriam 

Mr. and Mrs. Rose spent the last few days before 
going to Cornell at our home. He was worn out 
physically and the future was uncertain. i I don't 
quite know why I'm going to Cornell,' he said, < but 
I guess it's all right. God seems to be leading me 
just a step at a time lately, and I can't see very far 
into the future. I am willing to leave it to Him.' 
And he did." 

Rose was finally induced to attend the Long Beach 
Conference, after taking up his work on September 
first. His wife had found a comfortable place as a 
home in the East. During the days spent at Long 
Beach Rose seemed almost broken in health and 
very low spirited. The burden of care and anxiety 
for his mother and wife weighed on him greatly. It 
was strange to see him wander off up the beach alone, 
brushing the flowing tears from his face. In asking 
a friend at the close of each day to pray for Mrs. 
Rose, he said, " You know, old fellow, that I can't 
say much to the other men about it, but I do covet 
your prayer and sympathy, and the same from the 
other men also." 

After his return to Cornell at the end of the second 
week in September, he began to master the details 
of the office and get his bearings among difficult and 
sometimes discouraging circumstances and surround- 
ings. His health began to improve immediately as 
a result of steady hours and regular exercise out of 
doors and in the gymnasium. For a few weeks his 

88 



Ht Cornell 

physical improvement continued and he seemed to 
be himself again in spirit and in his work. 

At Cornell the same habits of his spiritual life 
which had made him such a flaming torch in the 
colleges of the West were adopted. It was his cus- 
tom to give a full hour each day to the study of the 
Bible, and oftentimes this hour was multiplied by 
three. The presence of difficulties in his work 
seemed to drive him more and more to his room in 
the tower of Barnes Hall, the Association Build- 
ing, for secret prayer and further study of his Bible. 
On one occasion the former secretary, who had occu- 
pied the room for several years in which he slept, 
found him at a late hour in the morning with his 
coat off and his note book and Bible spread out on 
the bed. He then said, " I would not think of enter- 
ing the day here without spending at least an hour 
over my Bible and with Christ in prayer. It is hard 
to keep sweet and yet do all that must be done. 
They don't understand me yet, I fear." 

It was not strange that he found himself in a 
difficult position. His heart longed for the speedy 
introduction of those methods of Christian work 
which were designed to bring young men in large 
numbers into the Christian life and into the Chris- 
tian church. It was natural also, that time should 
have been required for the officers of the Associa- 
tion, who had not worked with him at the Northfield 
Student Conference, to learn of his desires and 

8 9 



Hn jflDemoriam 

methods, and reconstruct plans under his adminis- 
tration. 

Early progress was noted, however, in the work 
which he did. To a fellow secretary he wrote, on 
October ist: "Last evening we had our decision 
meeting, and so near as I could find out, there were 
only two men in the room who were not Christians. 
They both made the confession of Christ. Never- 
theless, even though the numbers were small, the 
meeting was a blessing to us all. The fall work 
has thus far been quite successful. About one hun- 
dred and twenty-five new men have joined, and the 
canvass is still spreading. . . . There is nothing 
to write regarding Mrs. Rose. I hardly know my- 
self how she is. I think we are justified in feeling 
encouraged. You do not know how much your love 
and sympathy mean to me." 

Writing to the New York office during the next 
three weeks, he said: 

H came two hours ago, and you can bet your last 

copper that I am mighty glad to see him. We are looking 
for a good day to-morrow. Our greatest snag is a very at- 
tractive vesper service in the chapel at 3.15, on Sunday. It 
is absolutely impossible for us to do what most Associations 
do through meetings. I have been very happy here. We 
must get some large victories in His Name. 

Yours as ever, 

ROSE. 

October 8, 1900. 
Yesterday was a blessed day with us. More than a hun- 
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Ht Cornell 

dred have enlisted for Bible study, — the exact number is one 
hundred and eight. This number will be very substantially 
enlarged, surely beyond one hundred and fifty. A blessing 
on the workers at headquarters I 

October 20, 1900. 

Must do this little piece of work in just a minute. One 
of our good men wants to make a very thorough and critical 
study of the Parables of Jesus. What are some of the best 
books, and the price of them ? By the way, who is the ency- 
clopaedia who answers such questions from the office ? 

God's blessing still rests with us. 

On October 29th, he wrote to the friend who had 
visited the Association to aid in starting the Bible 
study classes : 

By the time this reaches you, I believe we shall have two 
hundred new members, practically all freshmen. Surely, God 
has made them willing. The Bible study is growing steadily, 
— enrollment now is one hundred and ninety-three. Good 
solid work in every class too. We are still hustling for more 
men. Our greatest problem in the Bible study department 
is to get leaders. We can't find the men we ought to have. 
Surely, they are here. In time we will get them. Personal 
workers' class started Sunday. Will start another in about 
ten days. 

At about this time he was endeavoring to lead the 
members of the Executive Committee of the Associ- 
ation to adopt a strong policy regarding evangelistic 
meetings and personal work, and in his letters he 
frequently dwelt on the great importance of using 
the regular meetings of the Association to lead 
students to a decision for Christ. On the twenty- 

9 1 



1Fn /iDemortam 

fifth of October he wrote to a secretary whom he 
had known for many years : 

It would do me a world of good to have a visit with you 
just now. There are some obstacles here which are difficult 
to overcome. The Executive Committee is opposed to 
evangelistic meetings, but we will win them yet. This is a 
sore disappointment to me, for I thought that they were 
anxious to have the evangelistic effort characterize their work # 
But God is blessing us and I believe He is glorifying Himself 
here. The Bible study enrollment is just about two hundred, 
and still growing. We have the largest freshmen member- 
ship ever recorded here. 

They were talking about Bible study in the 
Executive Committee meeting one evening. Rose 
wanted to have a strong meeting in which men 
could be invited to take a definite stand for Christ, 
but the others wanted to push Bible study instead. 
Finally they came to his view when he quoted to 
them a verse in Luke, making it apply to Bible 
study : " Even so shall there be joy in heaven over 
one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and 
nine righteous persons that are brought into Bible 
Study classes." 

The affection so constantly shown by his mother 
to him during the illness of his wife is well expressed 
by a note written with a trembling hand on October 
twenty-ninth : 

Dear Boy : 

Your letters are very precious to me. May the Lord keep 
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Ht Cornell 

your faith firm and bright. . . . May the compassionate Mas- 
ter pity and bless our little Sue. 

Your loving 

MOTHER. 

During the month of November steady progress 
was made in all departments of the Association work 
at Cornell. It encouraged Rose much to know that 
the two personal workers' classes had been used to 
lead several young men to Christ. Among the num- 
ber was a Japanese student in the graduate depart- 
ment. This particular event cheered Rose greatly. 
The leading officers and the committee men of the 
Association had rallied to his support with greatest 
fidelity and devotion, and the prospect for the future 
was bright. The disappointment which he had felt 
during the opening weeks had begun to give way in 
the face of actual accomplishments. But he missed 
the fellowship of those who had been his most in- 
timate friends during the previous four years. This 
feeling was experienced in a note to a former asso- 
ciate : 

Barnes Hall, November 30. 
It is borne in upon me more and more how much I owe to 
the sympathy and prayers of friends. Your letters are always 
helpful. Wish I could see you and just unconsciously un- 
burden myself — not that I feel especially burdened, and yet 
I have a real feeling of longing for the men whom I have 
known and loved. . . . Mrs. Rose doesn't gain as yet. The 
doctor advised me to bring her back here, because he thought 
our being together is essential to her recovery. And so we 
have been together for a few days . 

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1Tn /iDemoriam 

A personal letter, bearing date of December 30, 
1900, which was never delivered to him, was sent 
by a companion of childhood and college days. In 
it great joy was expressed by the young people, be- 
cause of his message sent to the Christian Endeavor- 
Society of the church at Beloit, Wisconsin, on the 
occasion of their consecration meeting. " I am sure 
that the Endeavorers of the First Church were as 
glad to get your thoughtful and inspiring words as the 
Endeavorers of the dear old Fort Atkinson Church 
used to be. Ever so many came up at the close of the 
service and spoke of you and told how glad they 
were that you still thought of us." This communi- 
cation must have been sent but a few hours before 
he was removed to the hospital. 

His last letter to the friend with whom he had 
been in constant correspondence during the fall of 
1900, was dated December 7th : 

Your letter, full of cheer, came yesterday. Mrs. Rose 
doesn't seem to change much, one way or another. But we 
know Whom we have believed, and He knows that we have 
believed. 

From this time on, Rose busied himself with the 
work involved in the closing weeks of the fall term. 
Aside from the administrative work of the Associa- 
tion, his chief service was pastoral in character. 
The old custom of visiting men in their rooms had 
been resumed, and already his note book in which 

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Ht Cornell 

he entered dates for personal interviews, was well 
filled with engagements. 

On December fifteenth, he seemed to be suffering 
with " grip." A physician treated him accordingly, 
while he still continued to do his regular work. On 
the twenty-second of December, another physician 
was called, who discovered a system run down, ac- 
companied by a high fever, with Rose still at his 
work. His case was pronounced to be typhoid of a 
week's duration, and he was ordered removed at 
once to the city hospital. 

The consciousness of danger does not seem to 
have dawned upon him, but the officers of the As- 
sociation, and many friends who were accustomed to 
meet him daily at Barnes Hall, became alarmed. 
The best possible care was summoned, and two 
nurses attended him constantly until his death. 
More than ordinary hospital attention was given 
him. His relatives were notified of his condition, 
and one of his brothers started for Ithaca. 

Early in the fall, Harlan P. Beach, the educa- 
tional secretary of the Student Volunteer Movement, 
had visited Cornell, to aid the Association in start- 
ing its mission study classes. The news of Rose's 
illness was promptly sent to the New York office. 
On December twenty-ninth, Mr. Beach sent the fol- 
lowing letter, addressing it to the city hospital : 

Dear Mr. Rose : 

We at the office have been greatly saddened at this Christ- 

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fn flDemortam 

mas season by hearing through Mr. Walter of your illness. 
I do not know Mr. Hicks' holiday address, and Mott is on 
the Pacific Coast, but they will be informed as soon as pos- 
sible concerning your illness. 

I am not surprised that one so wholly given up to the work 
of the Lord should find himself in condition to fall before the 
onset of typhoid fever, but I remember that your Master is 
all-loving, and regards the value of his workers' service as 
well as their life. I am sure that the consolations of God are 
not small with you and that the very consciousness of this 
Christmas season will make sickness easier to endure. Walter 
tells me that Mrs. Rose is bearing up splendidly, and I am 
sure that all is being done for the best. You have the deep- 
est sympathy and the prayers of all in the office, and we hope 
to hear of your speedy convalescence. 

Very sympathetically yours, 

H. P. BEACH. 

The fever had, however, secured a strong hold on 
his system, and on the night of Friday, January 4th, it 
was feared that a severe sinking spell would bring the 
end. He rallied, however, and on the sixth of Jan- 
uary was cheered by the arrival of his brother 
Frank, and one of his most intimate friends from 
New York. The fever continued to develop, and 
in spite of the best treatment, resulted fatally on 
Thursday, January the tenth. 

Few realized at the time of his death how great an 
influence he had exerted already throughout the Uni- 
versity. Many letters of sympathy were addressed to 
Mrs. Rose at Ithaca, and the officers of the Association. 
The following extract of a letter written by Louis C. 

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Ht Cornell 

Karpinski, the champion chess player of the Univer- 
sity at that time, characterizes well the devotion of 
a large number of students as a result of his short 
service : 

The inspiring thing to me about his life was his tremen- 
dous enthusiasm, power, and cheer under his sad circum- 
stances. He gave an example of how to treat discourage- 
ments. 

Rose walked right into a man's life with his first greeting. 
There was perfect sincerity in it, and when he said, " I am 
glad to meet you," he meant it, and you knew at once that he 
meant it. Although I was then unconscious of it, I now see 
that he had taken a strong hold on my lif e, and by association 
with him I was being directed into a higher plane of Christian 
living. Rose was an uncompromising fighter against sin. 
" We will cut it out of our lives, fellows," he said, and cut it 
out he did, and led others to do so. He was able to bring 
Christ near in prayer, as only those can who are much in 
prayer. 

Another Cornell student wrote soon after his 
death : 

One Sunday morning in his office he spoke to me about 
some work. There were several extra meetings that day, and 
I replied that if I undertook the work, it would be necessary 
to give up my extra Sunday hour for Bible study and medita- 
tion. " Are you going to chapel ? " he asked. I told him, yes. 
" Cut that out," he said, " rather than give up the time you 
spend alone with God. It will pay. I feel," he continued, 
" that I must get more power into my own life, and I am 
planning, therefore, to take some day this week and spend it 
all alone by myself somewhere with God and my Bible. I 
haven't had such a day for some time, but I must get my life 

97 



Un /IDemoriam 

all straightened out." Here lay one of the secrets of his 
strong, happy life. 

On the day following his death, the Cornell 
Daily Sun printed a review of his life and work, 
which ended with these words : 

After he assumed his position in Barnes Hall on September 
ist, he at once entered into the work, and although he has 
been here but four months, he has made hosts of friends and 
has endeared himself not only to the members of the Associa- 
tion but to the entire body of undergraduates. He was a 
member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. 

The body was accompanied to Beloit, Wisconsin, 
for burial by Mr. R. O. Walter, a prominent officer 
of the Cornell Association and the one who was 
with him most closely, not only during the fall as an 
associate secretary, but also during the days at the 
hospital. The burial was from the college chapel 
of Beloit College, in which as a student he had 
attended so many services. Those who spoke were 
President Eaton of the college, R. O. Walter of 
Cornell University, and Rev. George R. Leavitt, who 
was Mr. Rose's pastor during his last year in college. 

The pall-bearers were four senior members of the 
Beta fraternity, Ralph A. Buell, L. W. Ensign, J. E. 
Simmons and William C. Wheeler; the present 
president of the College Association, Norman W. 
Hollenbeck ; and Mr. Walter of Cornell. The hon- 
orary pall-bearers were classmates of the deceased : 

9 8 



Ht Cornell 

Messrs. E. J. Reitler and John A. White, of Beloit, 
and Rev. Arthur A. Amy, of Oregon, Illinois. 

Only a few months after this, word was received 
of the sudden death of his wife at her home in 
Beloit. Both had suffered much during their mar- 
ried life, but they had faith in a common Master. 
A prayer written by Mrs. Rose during the year 
spent by her husband in travel has fortunately been 
preserved. It shows the intensity of her love for 
Christ and the work they had been permitted to do. 

Heavenly Father, to be Thy child, to be Thy handmaiden 
ready to run any errand for Thee, to touch but the hem of 
Thy garment, no joy can be so great. Fill my heart with Thy 
Holy Spirit, give me strength — physical and mental and 
spiritual — to live to Thy glory. Thou keepest me close to 
Thee, but Oh ! may it be for Thy glory, O Christ. Give me 
the strength always to say, " Thy will, not mine, be done." 
Bless Thy children in all the world. Bless Thy " little ones n 
everywhere, and Oh, may we have a small part in telling them 
of Thee. Bless the college young men, and may the meet- 
ings to-morrow be full of Thee. I thank Thee for this Sab- 
bath day — bringing so much of rest and light and peace. 
I thank Thee for Thy presence. Abide with me. 

The closing words of the article in The Inter- 
collegian of February, 1901, are fittingly used at 
this point of Rose's life story : " Such a life is not 
measured by years. One thinks again of the words 
on the tombstone of D. L. Moody, ' He that doeth 
the will of God abideth forever/ " 



99 
LofC. 



f n /IDemoriam 



CHAPTER VII 

CORNELL MEMORIAL SERVICE 

"T" T is difficult to describe the feeling of loss sus- 
tained by the Cornell Association and the 
1 most interested friends in the faculty and 
among the graduates. The hopes of those who 
had gone to great sacrifice in order that a full-time 
secretary might be employed, had seemingly been 
entirely dashed to the ground. The leaders of the 
Association themselves found it difficult to recover 
from the blow. The officers, however, quickly ral- 
lied and made temporary provision by putting one 
of their own number, Mr. Benjamin R. Andrews, 
into the office as general secretary. Under his able 
leadership a most successful year of work was com- 
pleted. 

Small informal meetings were held in Barnes 
Hall, attended by those who desired to give ex- 
pression to their gratitude for the influence which 
Rose had exerted over them. The idea was con- 
ceived at once of having a memorial service, to 
which the students of the University and the mem- 
bers of the faculty should be invited. The date 
chosen was Sunday, February 3, 1901. 

About six hundred students were present at this 
meeting, over which Mr. Andrews presided. The 

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Cornell /IDemorial Service 

spirit of the occasion while tempered by a feeling of 
sorrow because of the great loss sustained, was 
marked by elements of joy and triumphant faith. 
The four addresses are given here in full : 



BENJAMIN R. ANDREWS 

On behalf of the Cornell University Christian 

Association 

The purpose of this meeting I need scarcely state. 
We are met to pay a tribute of respect and love to 
a friend who has gone out from our midst. 

When Mr. Rose came among us at the beginning 
of the fall term, he came as the graduate of a West- 
ern college and one four years removed from under- 
graduate days. Could there have been any question 
as to whether he w r ould " take " with Cornell under- 
graduates, it was swept away, as one by one we met 
him. He was a man so open-hearted, that to meet 
him once was to know him ever afterward as a 
friend, so much was there about the man to endear 
him to those with whom he mingled. He was an 
athlete of giant frame, but as gentle as a child. 
Keen of intellect, and of no mean mental parts, he 
possessed the traits that mark the real man. He 
was frank, fearless and sincere. His was a life 
pure without and within, a life aggressively right- 
eous, one that' held itself to the right and the pure 
and the true, and that brought others to its own 

IOI 



Hit jflDemoriam 

high standards. He was a man of wonderful one- 
ness of aim. His whole life and energies were 
given to the glorifying of God and the helping of 
others to glorify him. His two maxims, had he 
lived by maxims, might well have been these, " This 
one thing I do " and " seek first the kingdom of 
God and his righteousness.' ' But he lived by more 
than maxims, and this leads me to speak of his re- 
ligious life. 

It was no dry creed, no mere principles of theol- 
ogy? but a wonderful transference of the life of 
the Master into the life of a college man of to-day. 
It was because he lived as he believed, and put into 
action the principles he professed, that Rose gained 
such a hold on us and on our lives. In his living 
there was emphasized the importance of each ele- 
ment of the trinity of body, mind, and spirit ; but 
the deeper things of the spirit ever held their proper 
primacy. He had time each day for Bible study 
and for communion with his Heavenly Father; 
indeed, he seemed ever in touch with a Power be- 
yond the natural. And here it was that he gained 
that which bore him up in his dealings with men, 
that strength of conviction, that invariable cheerful- 
ness, that eagerness to sacrifice and to serve. " Tell 
the friends back at Cornell that, after all, it is service 
that counts," was the message his aged mother sent 
to us ; and service it was more than anything else 
perhaps, which marked the life of our friend — ser- 

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Cornell ZlDemorlal Service 

vice dignified and glorified in that it was inspired by 
the love which he who served bore for the Christ. 

A word as to Mr. Rose's relations to the Chris- 
tian Association. In all our councils and com- 
mittees, his thought was ever for the success of 
efforts which would help men and women to adjust 
their relations with their Heavenly Father, and to 
measure their lives by His standards. He intro- 
duced methods of work, and above all a spirit of 
work which will continue of deep import to student 
religious activities at Cornell. The loss which the 
Association sustains in the death of Mr. Rose is not 
to be measured in words. Our only consolation is 
to be found in his practiced belief that God rules 
and overrules for the best in all the affairs of men. 

As we look over his relations to the Association, 
we feel that we of the Association can pay no higher 
tribute to his life, that we can raise him no more 
fitting memorial than this, — that we consecrate 
ourselves with new vigor to the work which he so 
well began, and that we build upon the foundations 
which he laid, a superstructure as fair and noble as 
it may be given us to build. As we think of his life, 
so pure, so helpful, so manly, so Christlike, 
each man and woman of us, whether Association 
members or not, joins, I am sure, in the determina- 
tion to raise himself nearer to those standards which 
Rose set and to be guided by that Life which kept 
his life aright. So shall he find his true memorial, 

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1Fn /IDemoriam 

one within our hearts, and one that passeth not 
away. 

PRESIDENT J. G. SCHURMAN 
On behalf of the Faculty 

We find ourselves this afternoon in front of the 
most impressive fact that we ever face in our ex- 
perience. It is an old saying that life is a prepara- 
tion for death. I do not know that this is the whole 
truth or the happiest way of saying it, but your 
hearts bear witness, I think, that there is no other 
fact which is so momentous or that makes so great 
an impression as the fact of death, especially of a 
young man. 

All I shall try to do in speaking of Mr. Rose will 
be to record as I recall them, two or three impres- 
sions which our intercourse left vividly upon my 
mind. It is difficult to describe facts, and perhaps 
the simpler the facts the harder it is to describe 
them, and when emotions get the better of us we 
perhaps indulge in exaggerations, but I shall en- 
deavor to avoid them and try to describe as accu- 
rately as I can these impressions to which I refer. 

Mr. Rose came to my office soon after reaching 
the University, to talk with me about the work of the 
Association. I was very much interested in him. 
I found him an energetic leader in the work. I 
thought, as I recalled the man within the last twenty- 
four hours, that he had conspicuous organizing 

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Cornell /iDemorfal Service 

abilities. As the conversation is recalled, I remem- 
ber how he was throwing out this suggestion or that, 
that he would probe this idea and that, move in this 
direction and then another, and get my judgment 
on these various plans. Well, that is leadership, 
that is organizing talent ; and I think he had it in 
a very remarkable degree. 

The second thought which I recall was the intense 
earnestness of the man. I doubt if we had any man 
or woman in our University community who was so 
much in earnest as Mr. Rose was. He may have 
had humor, he may have had joviality, but he acted 
as though life was a probation and the problems 
with which he had to grapple were awfully vital. 

The third thing that I should recall was the 
pronounced Christian character of the man. I do 
not think we nowadays distinguish between those 
who are professedly Christians and those who are 
not, as was done a generation ago, but we cer- 
tainly recognize that there are different types even 
of Christians. There are men who are like Nicode- 
mus and come to the Lord by night. They act sus- 
piciously, perhaps do not want it known. There are 
those who, if they are not morally cowardly, at any 
rate do not disturb themselves much about Chris- 
tianity. Their religion is unpronounced. 

Now you can supply in your own consciousness 
what I have not time to say. I mention only the 
marked features of Mr. Rose's character. It has 

io 5 



Hn /iDemorfam 

been already alluded to by Mr. Andrews when he 
spoke of his aggressiveness. I should say he was 
the champion of pronounced aggressive Christianity. 
He had it in himself, and was anxious, desperately 
anxious, that every one else should enjoy the same 
great truth. 

I think I have recalled without exaggeration, be- 
cause I am not capable of exaggerating, these three 
characteristics of the man whom we now mourn and 
the character which I think we all revere. I cer- 
tainly hope there are others who may rise up here 
and take the place which Mr. Rose has left vacant, 
and, as those who know his work best will bear me 
out in saying, to fill the place which he has left 
vacant will be a matter of very great difficulty. 
What is death ? Well, what is life ? Perhaps, after 
all, the most we can say is this : that our friends have 
gone from the mystery of life and nature into the 
other mystery of eternity, and one is scarcely less or 
more mysterious than the other. 



PROFESSOR CHARLES MELLEN TYLER 

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Association 

The Board of Trustees have feelingly requested 
me to express their sorrow. They expected with 
ardent hope the arrival of Mr. Rose, and the vigor 
of his service, his sympathetic interest in the stu- 
dents, his sagacity in the management of the some- 

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Cornell /IDemorial Service 

what intricate affairs of the Association, amply 
vindicated our expectations. 

Certainly, after the words of our honored Presi- 
dent of the University and the President of the As- 
sociation, little remains to be said. I think at first 
a certain confusion comes into even pious thought 
in face of the mystery of a young man being taken 
away who is on the threshold, or has just crossed 
the threshold of life. It is a great mystery, but per- 
haps we regain the poise of our faith and judgment 
when we take the larger view and realize, as has 
just been intimated, that life is but a part of the 
great whole, that it is but the vestibule of the 
mansion of God which extends into infinity. It is 
the training place of character for an eternity of 
communion with God and His saints. Death is al- 
ways a sad event for the old as well as the young, 
but death has its radiant aspect. Death, after all, 
is rest and peace. It is a deliverance of the finite 
self, the minute self into the larger self which awaits 
us in communion with God above. It is the freeing 
of a soul into infinite liberty. The righteous are 
with God, and their souls can feel no touch of evil. 

I early discerned in Mr. Rose a remarkable in- 
telligence. I think the tribute which has been paid 
to his intelligence is not exaggerated, and the tribute 
which has been paid to his goodness, I think is not 
exaggerated. The old maxim is sometimes uttered : 
11 No man is as good as we think he is or as bad as 

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flu /B>emoriam 

we think he is." If I were to make an exception to 
that maxim, it would be in the case of our brother, 
who seems to have been almost if not quite as good 
as I thought he was. That for me is his eulogy. 
Mr. Rose, as has been intimated, did not desire to 
penetrate into the depths of theology. After all, the 
knowledge of character consists not so much in 
knowledge of the niceties of doctrine as in a pure 
and holy life. I remember that the omission in the 
New Testament of all those opinions and proposi- 
tions which are held essential to our Christian faith 
are very remarkable, and lead us to the inevitable con- 
clusion that the Master thought more of him who 
gave a cup of cold water to a disciple or who ac- 
cepted the kingdom of God in a childlike spirit. 
Sometimes one may become greater in the moral and 
spiritual realm of effort than in an academic sphere. 
Mr. Rose might have chosen any other vocation, 
and I think he would have shone in any department 
of thought and action, in any profession, but he 
chose the more concrete and practical course of life, 
and who shall say he did not choose the better 
part ? It seems to me his administration has been 
one of a fundamental character and has a quality of 
permanence, that he has left a legacy which shall 
remain to us. I think he felt that the great object of 
Christian effort and the object of all institutions of 
religion and of religion itself is to make men good, and 
that the surest discipline and education in that direc- 

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Cornell flDemorial Service 

tion is the contention with the sin which easily 
besets us and which by the grace and strength of 
God we may overcome. Mr. Russell Lowell has 
said somewhere that there is more knowledge to be 
gained in the struggle with one temptation than in 
all books of metaphysics. 

And now we must say farewell to our friend. We 
have felt the electrical touch of his life upon our 
own, and I hope that we may take from his bright 
example encouragement and inspiration for the 
work of each of us for the life that is left to us. 

HARRY WADE HICKS 1 
For the Graduates of the University 

The personal characteristics and habits of a 
successful man will ever be the most inspiring sub- 
jects of study and meditation. Horace W. Rose 
was a success in the highest understanding of the 
term, because he used his brief life for the service 
of his King, and counted everything which did not 
offer him opportunity to represent his Lord to young 
men as of little account for him. He believed that 
to be a Christian was the greatest fact in life. 
Therefore he lived among college men as a glorious, 
natural and conspicuously effective exponent of 
Christian manhood. 

1 As revised and printed in The Intercollegian, February, 1903, under 
the title " Horace W. Rose, Ambassador of Jesus Christ to the Court of 
the Individual Heart." 

109 



f n /IDemortam 

The causes for the influence exerted by Rose are 
not unknown. But the spirit in which he constantly 
worked, and the habits of religious service formed, 
are not common among Christian students. His 
was a life of reality. He made it a practice to do 
everything as he believed his Lord would if He 
were in his place. This reality of Christian living 
accounts for his increasingly victorious battle with 
his own sins. He knew the battlegrounds of col- 
lege men, for he had won victories on them. It 
is not strange, therefore, that men listened to his 
testimony and acted on his recommendation when, 
as was his custom, he asked them to become dis- 
ciples of his Lord. 

Rose had a keen appreciation of the polluting 
and destructive power of sin. Every form of sin 
prevailing among college men he knew, for their 
blighting and corroding effects he had had exposed 
to his gaze hundreds of times through the voluntary 
confession of men fettered by sinful habits. No sin 
escaped his treatment. As his letters and papers 
are reviewed, it is apparent that he called for a 
whole abandonment of sin when a man became a 
Christian. After one visit to a college he wrote, 
"I'm tired after such a siege of personal interview. 
Some men were helped to begin to struggle. Others 
are entirely cleaned up." In another college he 
" got several men to make a scientific fight to over- 
come." His letters abound with phrases, in which 

no 



Cornell ZlDemorial Service 

the word " fire " and " burn " are used, showing that 
he longed to be pure himself, and to have the last 
traces of sin obliterated from men's lives. Without 
such an attitude toward impurity, selfishness, pride, 
drinking, gambling, and the other temptations of 
college life, no man can expect to be successful in 
relating men to Jesus Christ in any sense that may 
be called effectual and complete. It is chiefly 
because men fail to recognize the completeness of 
the claims of Christ that so many efforts to prepare 
for personal work end before the interview is begun 
and the contact formed. 

In all his work with men Rose manifested sym- 
pathy and love. These virtues he ever sought to 
make more constant. His power to make men at 
ease in his presence when the secrets of the heart 
were laid bare, grew year by year. Many a man 
went to him as did one who said, " You helped my 
chum so much that I've come too." This fixed 
attitude was hard to hold, for at first he felt little 
love for certain types of men, shrinking more from 
the scoffer and would-be infidel than the man who 
had gone into the grossest forms of sin. The secret 
of his growth in this respect is found in his desire to 
be as near like his Lord as the study of His life and 
time for practice of His virtues would make him. 
He therefore spent much time in Bible study and 
prayer. His private papers are full of written 
prayers revealing the most intimate fellowship with 

in 



fn jflDemorfam 

the Master he served. Hundreds of men to-day out 
of college strive to love men as Rose did, which was 
as his Lord loved. 

A sense of opportunity in doing personal work is 
essential. Rose made opportunities. In four days 
at Leland Stanford he had four hundred conversa- 
tions with as many men alone. He talked with men 
in the shops, the laboratory, the dormitory, on the 
athletic field, and on the street. His work he con- 
sidered to be of the supremest importance. And 
because he lived among men engaging in every 
legitimate enterprise of college life, he was always 
natural in his approach to the consideration of their 
personal relationship to Jesus Christ. The high 
valuation placed by him on time gave him his acute 
sense of opportunity, and because of this also he 
was frank, quick to hear and sympathize, most direct 
in his dealing, and therefore most faithful to his 
friend with whom he talked. It required confidence 
to work in this way, but the confidence was not of 
human origin. Rose knew Christ well enough to 
realize that the message he was giving to college 
men was the word they themselves wanted in the 
depths of their desires to hear. 

Another characteristic of Rose in his personal 
work was his glorification of righteous living. There 
was exhilaration in his public address and private 
conversation, created by the reality of his message 
and the intensity of his personal friendship with 

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Cornell /IDemorial Service 

Jesus. He had ever before him the vision of a col- 
lege where all the men were fighting winning battles 
with sin. In a measure, he had come into posses- 
sion of the enthusiasm for his work which sustained 
Jesus in the days when His world-wide conception 
of the Kingdom was rejected by the people of His 
own country, and imperfectly understood by His dis- 
ciples. Rose was jealous of his Lord's rights. It 
grieved him deeply when men uttered words profan- 
ing the Master whom he served and whose character 
he held up for men to copy. To him the topic of 
conversation of supreme importance was the char- 
acter of his "King." " Make Jesus King" was a 
phrase which rang out in nearly every address. 
Because he lived what he professed, men listened 
and yielded to his invitation to become disciples of 
Christ. 

But the secret of his power was in his complete 
self negation and the presence in a real sense of his 
Lord's spirit. To his God he ascribed all the power 
and glory. " It was a manifestation of divine 
power," he wrote when ten men accepted Christ in 
personal interviews after a meeting. In another let- 
ter he said, " We praise God for the breaking down 
of barriers," where hard feeling between several 
fraternities had kept men hitherto from participation 
in religious work. Men often have said since his 
death that they were not able to resist his invitation 
to be Christians because of the appeal made by his 



fn /toemoriam 

character and spirit. They recognized that he, too, 
had been with Jesus. 

In the face of successes which would have led 
many men to defeat through pride, he grew in 
humility and child-like faith. After a campaign of 
personal work in a western university when many 
men had confessed faith in Christ for the first time, 
he wrote, "One marked result of this visit is the 
consciousness of the fact that I've a battle on. I've 
got to be more humble.' ' In another letter he said 
that merely reporting the number of men who be- 
came active Christians caused serious temptation to 
be self-satisfied. In a private letter shortly before 
he died, when illness of his sainted mother and his 
wife weighed heavily on his heart, he wrote, " If 
there is one thing I covet from my friends, it is 
that they will make mention of my need before the 
Heavenly Father. The mean little temptations get 
a hold on a fellow before he knows it, insidious 
pride, vainglory and satisfaction over things accom- 
plished. Some way these things eat their way in, 
and we are prone to covet the praise of men rather 
than the praise of God. O ! for grace to keep very 
low at the foot of the cross." 

What Horace Rose was, other men may become. 
His greatest ambition was " to burn a path of light " 
through the colleges of his field. He led hundreds 
of college men to Christ in one year. Many more 
were induced to join the Church. Bible classes 

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Cornell flDemorial Service 

were everywhere reinforced by men whose spiritual 
habits he had quickened. Through his influence 
organized personal work became prevalent through- 
out the colleges from the bounds of Illinois to the 
Pacific. Hundreds of men date the beginning of a 
victorious life from private talks with him. Men in 
large numbers are now preparing for missionary 
work or other religious callings whose choice of life 
work was guided by his counsels. " He went about 
doing good, for the Lord was with him. ,, He recog- 
nized that in every college the devil is consistent 
and aggressive in his warfare against the best m 
men's lives. This fact, coupled with the belief that 
Christ had commissioned him an ambassador to the 
court of every troubled heart, made him redeem the 
hours lest his Lord come and find him idle. May 
his life become an inspiration to an army of men to 
follow in his footsteps ! 



i*S 



Hn /iDemoriam 



CHAPTER VIII 

GENEVA MEMORIAL SERVICE 

THE spirit of the Lake Geneva Summer 
Conference of 1901 was deeply enriched 
by frequent references to Rose and his 
work. No longer was his merry laugh to be heard 
among the tents along the shore. While the red 
settees near " Faculty Row " were occupied each 
afternoon by other counsellors, the memory of him 
added new solemnity to the interviews on lifework. 

On the first Sunday evening of the Conference, 
June 23, a memorial service was held, over which 
Mr. John R. Mott, Senior Student Secretary of the 
International Committee, presided. Several dele- 
gates spoke who had known Rose well during his 
eight years of active service in the College Associa- 
tion field. 1 These addresses are given here in 
full. 

LEROY B. SMITH 

General Secretary-elect y University of Wisconsin 

I speak thoughtfully when I say that it is one of the 
greatest blessings of my life that I was able to associate with 
Horace Rose for three months. He came to Cornell in 
September, and died on the tenth of January. But in those 

1 The positions filled by the speakers whose names are given are those 
held by them during the summer of 1901. 

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Geneva flDemortal Service 

short weeks we at Cornell learned the true meaning of " I am 
glad to see you.* When that was quoted first, I thought of 
an incident that occurred last fall at one of the football 
games. A man who was not identified with the Association 
and was not a Christian went to the game with another friend 
of mine. They were looking over the bleachers for a seat 
when he saw Rose, and said, " Let's go down and sit with 
him." Men were attracted to him, for he always had a smiling 
countenance and a good word. He was not a long-faced, 
sober Christian, but a happy Christian every week and every 
day of the week. What impressed me most was his great 
interest in individual men. He did not organize highly 
developed religious machinery. But his first thought was to 
reach men. 

I attended five or six sessions of his personal workers 
class which met once a week in his office. Rose knew the 
Scriptures, and knew what it meant to be in union with 
God. The memorial services which were held at Cornell in 
February I shall never forget. Different men paid their 
tributes of loving words, but better than this was a meeting 
held a few days later where seventy-five of the men who had 
known him best and who had been helped by him in some 
little way met to express informally their tribute of love. 
These and scores of others thanked God that Rose had been 
called to Cornell. 

CHARLES J. EWALD 

General Secretary, University of Michigan 

It is one of the blessed privileges of my life to have 
known Rose well and to have served for a year under his 
leadership. I shall never forget the first time I met him. 
It was on the day when I entered the University as a fresh- 
man. As I went into the Association Building he reached 
out his hand and gave me that shake which only you who 

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1Tn /IDemoriam 

have had it appreciate. " Ewald, I am glad to see you." By 
his manner of saying it I knew that from that time forth I 
possessed a friend. He was the biggest-hearted man I 
ever knew. He had more love for men, however deep they may 
have been in sin, than any other I have ever met. I have 
often seen him go into the laboratory and spend a moment 
with each man. How glad we were when we saw Rose 
coming our way ! 

During his second year as Secretary at the University 
sixteen men were led to Christ, and over sixty men were led 
to clean up their lives from profanity and other sins. His 
work was a quiet one, — one that profoundly impressed stu- 
dents and faculty alike. He was unselfish, humble, sincere, 
and had intense love for souls. He made Jesus Christ King, 
and allowed the Holy Spirit to take complete possession of 
his life. 

GEORGE W. LEAVITT 

Travelling Secretary ', Student Volunteer Movement 

When the news of the death of Rose reached me, I knew 
that I had lost 'a friend who did more to inspire me to per- 
sonal work than any other living person. When I first came 
to college, a friend of mine brought Rose to meet me in my 
room. As he came in he said, " Well, old fellow, I am glad 
to see you. Do you sing ? We have a Glee Club here, and if 
you don't play football we have a good track team." When 
I learned later that he was president of the Young Men's 
Christian Association, a permanent friend had been won to 
the organization. 

After a short time I heard that twenty-two men had been 
won to Christ. I asked my friend how it had happened. It 
was learned that night after night he had taken men in groups 
of two or three, out of town into the country under the trees 
by the roadside, and had talked with them of Christ. Of 

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Geneva /iDemortal Service 

the twenty-five men thus interviewed, twenty-two began the 
Christian life on the Day of Prayer for Colleges. 

This story is told of an effort made by Rose to lead a 
prominent athlete into the Christian life. The man had re- 
fused to talk with him about the Bible. Rose said, " If I can 
beat you in a race, will you let me talk about it ? n The 
challenge having been accepted, Rose set the day, and then 
proceeded to train for the event throughout two weeks, in 
the gymnasium. " We ran the first quarter at a clip I had 
never known. The second was still faster. My distance in 
college was only a quarter, but the third lap was run at a pace 
to kill. When we finished, I only knew that I had won." 
As a result of the talk won in this practical way, the athlete 
entered the Christian life. 

" Have you had a vision of the King in his beauty ? " he 
asked of this athlete. Rose had had this vision, and it was 
the secret of his life. 

JOHN C. PRALL 

State College Secretary of Iowa 

I met Mr. Rose for the first time at this Conference in '95, 
while he was a student at Beloit. There was nothing special 
by which I remembered him. In fact, I did not remember him 
at all. From here, I went back to the University of Iowa, 
as a new student, and for one reason or another, being 
a freshman, I became indifferent to the claims of Christ. 
The next year was a fruitless one, so far as God's Kingdom 
was concerned in my own life. 

During the next summer, unknown to me, Rose was called 
to be the General Secretary of the Association at Iowa. As 
I entered the University the next fall, and came into the As- 
sociation Building, there came the hearty greeting which 
many of you are familiar with, " Hello, old fellow, I am glad 

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1Tn jflDemoriam 

to see you." It struck me forcibly that he remembered me 
during the year which had elapsed since we met. 

It was Rose's chief joy to be among men as one that 
served, not among the ones who were easily won. Again 
and again he expressed his regret that the details of the As- 
sociation kept him from being used in winning men to Christ. 
The Association called me to a position which I refused 
because of an inconsistent life. It was Rose who asked me 
to be fitted for the position, and it was only after weeks that 
I decided to accept. I suppose there is no man who has ever 
been in the University of Iowa so well remembered as Mr. 
Rose. This is so not because of his enthusiasm in athletics, or 
in the work of the Glee Club, but because of their personal 
relations with him. 

Recently I was talking with a man in the city of Des 
Moines, one of the most godless men of the institution. 
When I said, " Rose is dead," he was as shocked as we have 
been. Rose had invited this man to give up his sinful life, 
and he had refused. He gave this testimony, however, that 
Rose had been to him the closest friend he had ever known. 

WILLIAM B. PETTUS 

General Secretary, University of Missouri 

In the fall of 1898 I went down to our State Convention 
at Kansas City not a Christian. The first man to impress me 
was Rose. He led the college session the first morning. 
That afternoon (it was the twelfth of November) he came to 
me privately and told me something about the Christian life 
and about Christ as he knew Him. He asked me if I did 
not want Him, and I told him promptly " No." But I did. 
No man ever knew Rose without wanting to know his 
Master. 

About a month after that I accepted Christ, and wrote to 
Rose about it. The letter he wrote back had more love in it 

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Geneva rtDemorfal Service 

than any I had ever received. I could not understand why a 
man should care for one whom he had seen but once. Now 
I know that the reason was the presence of Christ's spirit in 
Rose. 

The next fall when he was making a tour among the col- 
leges, he came to our institution. I was then working in the 
Association, had heard about personal work, and knew a little 
of what it was. I had gotten the courage to go to three or 
four of my personal friends and speak to them about Christ. 
But the idea of being interested in every man just because he 
was a man, and because he did not know Christ and it was 
possible for me to present Christ to him, had never occurred 
to me. While Rose was there I " got conviction." During 
the three days of his visit he talked personally with over two 
hundred men about the Master. You might wonder how he 
could speak to so many without offending some. But men 
never got offended when Rose spoke, and twenty accepted 
Christ during his visit. 

At our next State Convention, on the twelfth of November, 
1899, I went to Rose and told him that I was facing the 
question of going to the foreign field. It was natural for any 
man to go to Rose when he was facing a question. I did 
not know what to do. He said, " Do just what God wants 
you to." And that was the natural thing. It had power 
with me because that was what Rose was doing. So I de- 
cided to go to the foreign field. 

Rose helped me three times, and then he died. But his life 
has helped me since, especially during the times when I have 
been tempted and tried. The thought of him and what he 
would do under similar circumstances led me to know what 
Christ wanted me to do. Rose did the will of God through 
the strength which God gave him, and thereafter I knew that 
it was possible for me to have the same strength. 



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In /fcemoriam 

L. E. HARTER 

General Secretary, Stanford University 

The first International Secretary whom I ever met was 
Mr. Rose. So deep and clear is the impression of the spirit 
and method of work for college men which he left upon me 
at that time, that, notwithstanding subsequent experience and 
instruction, it remains to this day the ideal of all my work 
and ambition, because it is the spirit and method of Christ. 

Mr. Rose studied to make his presence bear the impress 
of Christ rather than his own personality. So nearly was the 
mind in him that was in Jesus Christ, that to know him was 
to have a new vision of the Master. His power lay in his 
ability to translate Christ into terms of human experience. 
This explains why the impress he left upon men was so deep 
and lasting, why to be with him was so inspiring. 

It was my fortune to meet Mr. Rose upon his arrival at 
our University. I had never seen him previous to this. 
Before going to the depot I was a little anxious for fear I 
should miss him. So I went to one of the boys who knew 
him in order to get a description of the visitor. "Well," 
said my friend, " pick out the biggest man with the biggest 
smile.' , I expressed myself as trusting I should find him. 
" Yes, you'll have no trouble," chipped in the man on whom 
Rose had left his impression as he did on every man he 
met : ■ he'll know you, if you don't recognize him. He has 
an instinct for Association men ! " 

At the Pacific Grove Conference of May, 1900, he was the 
centre of the jollity and the inspiration of the spiritual life. 
At the Association sessions, when Mr. Rose presented the 
methods of work for students, and especially that subject 
which was ever nearest to his heart, personal work, there 
seemed to be an almost sensible presence of the Holy Spirit 
brooding over the mem This at least was the way that the 

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men who were close to Christ and close to Rose accounted for 
the power of that hour. An outsider said of one of these 
sessions, " His words rose nearer pure oratory than anything 
I have heard for many a year." To us who knew Mr. Rose, 
his rare power was not unaccounted for, for even in the 
midst of the large responsibilities of the summer conference 
he found two and even three hours a day to be alone with 
God in prayer and the study of His Word. 

While at Stanford University, Mr. Rose, in company with 
various men of the Association, visited during his four days' 
stay over four hundred men personally in their rooms, in the 
laboratories, on the baseball field, in the gymnasium, in the 
fraternity houses, and, in fact, every place w T here men were to 
be found. The beginning of the change of sentiment on the 
part of the student body, which before this time had been an 
avowed hostility towards the Association, is marked very 
distinctly by this visit. Men caught a glimpse of the kind of 
manhood the Young Men's Christian Association stands for, 
and it could not but appeal strongly to them. 

During the time that Mr. Rose was at the University, it 
was my privilege to accompany him on his tours through the 
men's rooms at night. On the way back to the lodge where 
he was staying, and after the night's work, we never failed to 
stop at the gymnasium steps for prayer. It was Saturday 
night. The next evening Mr. Rose was to address the men 
and women in the chapel. We were in great need of money 
to send men to the summer conference. Just as we ap- 
proached the gymnasium he said, " Harter, old fellow, how 
much money have you faith for to-night ? " — " Not very much," 
I replied. " Well, I have faith for $30," he said assuredly. 
11 1 admire your faith, Rose, but you don't know the close, 
fistednessof our students and their hardness to such appeals." 
He prayed for $30. I couldn't. The next evening after his 
talk he asked for subscriptions. My heart was heavy with 
the rebuke, " Oh ye of little faith," when I counted up $42, 

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Un /IDemoriam 

as the slips came in. " According to your faith be it done 
unto you " has lived for me since that night. 



E. T. COLTON 
International Student Secretary for the West 

The feature of this service that has been impressing me 
most, is that no word of eulogy has been pronounced. We 
have been hearing the story of life. It has not been neces- 
sary to raise the voice, but of the heart we have been able to 
hear and be stirred. His life has weighed with us because of 
his union with Christ. 

Any one who heard his addresses must have been im- 
pressed with the constant reference to Jesus Christ. Since 
we have every reason to believe that he never got any farther 
away from Christ than he was in his addresses, we must be 
led to see why the same impressions are burning in the 
hearts of men here. The universal testimony to his life is 
that men all over his trail were shamed by him into being 
servants of Christ. His life was one of tirelessness and utter 
absence of self-satisfaction. I happen to know that his 
policy as he entered the work of the secretaryship the past 
year was that one man a day might be led to Christ through- 
out his entire service with the Committee. His expectation 
was fulfilled. On one occasion I met him as he was starting 
out on a trip. He said, " I have asked the Lord for twenty 
men." When he returned later he carried the names of 
twenty men in his note-book. 

At one of the State Conventions an incident occurred which 
showed how he always sought opportunities to teach a lesson 
in the Christian life. It was Sunday after the quiet-hour 
meeting in the lobby of the Association Building. The dele- 
gates were scattered about conversing. A little fellow from 
the street came into the room selling carnations. Several 

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(Seneva flDemoriai Service 

men were buying flowers, but Rose did not. As the lad came 
up to him he said, " What would you think of me if I should 
go out on the street to-day and buy a horse ? " The boy 
looked up in surprise, and Rose saw that he did not under- 
stand. Quickly he said, " What do you do with your 
money ? " The little fellow replied, " I give it to my mother." 
" All right," he said ; " here is your money, but I don't want 
your flowers." He was always seeking opportunities to teach 
such lessons. 

In one institution he went into a room and found a Bible 
spread apart and nailed through with a great spike as a dec- 
oration. To the man who occupied the room he said, " The 
first thing I am going to do, old fellow, is to take that Bible 
down." To which came the reply, " You will have to take 
me down first." Rose said, " I can take down any man who 
has not more manhood than to do a thing like that," and in 
his good-natured way he threw him. The man got up, and of 
his own accord took the Bible down. 

Another characteristic that impressed me was the joy of 
his life. Always he seemed to be seeking for burdens. It 
did not make any difference where he was, for he was always 
helping men. As we rode up on the train one day we passed 
a funeral procession. Rose said, " It always depresses me 
when I see a funeral until I know whether the deceased was 
saved." 

A year ago at the lifework meeting with the Student Vol- 
unteers he said, " My reason for wishing to go to the foreign 
field is because the burdens and difficulties will drive me 
nearer Jesus." Burdens added ten years to his life. Never- 
theless one student said, " This is the first time I ever saw a 
Christian who was happy." 

The last trait of his life about which I wish to speak is his 
humility. One of our witnesses this afternoon has spoken of 
the reports which he sent in giving the number of men won 
to Christ. In a conversation with him he said once, " I do not 

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Un /IDemoriam 

want to put those things in. I am not in this work to have 
results counted." 

And so we find ourselves wondering again that the life was 
cut off so soon in its usefulness. Yet it was a finished work, 
and I know that the message he would give us if he were 
here to-day would be that we should not glorify men, but that 
we should go out from here as did those men who went from 
the Mount after the vision of Christ, " seeing no man save 
Jesus only/' 

JOHN R. MOTT 

About the hardest experience I have ever had in college 
work was resigning myself to the withdrawal of Rose from 
our ranks. It was only when it became absolutely necessary 
because of the state of his wife's health that he gave up the 
travelling-work, and I yielded to the inevitable. There was 
some compensation in that he went to my old university, — 
Cornell. 

I do not trust myself to add any personal testimony after 
what we have heard to-day. I am constrained to give what 
seems to me the result of all to which we have listened. It 
is not the magnitude of man's service which is to count at the 
last day. It is not the length of his life nor the reputation 
that he has acquired which will tell at that time. The im- 
portant fact will be whether he has finished the work to which 
God has called him, or not. Christ was able to say at the 
end of his life at the age of thirty-three, " I have glorified Thee 
on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou gavest 
me to do." David Brainerd left as deep a mark on this world 
as any man that ever lived, and he died at thirty-three. Henry 
Martyn has left a blessed mark on India and Persia. Near 
the close of his short life he said, " Now let me burn out for 
God," and he did so at almost identically the same age, — 
thirty-three. Rose was another young man that died at about 

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Geneva flDemorial Service 

the age of twenty-seven. After what has been said to-day 
does any one question that Colton is right when he says, " He 
lived a finished life " ? May the ambition take strong hold of 
us to finish the work that God has called us into the world 
to do! 



127 



fln /iDemorfam 



CHAPTER IX 

OTHER TRIBUTES 

MANY who belonged to Rose's innermost 
circle of friends have written letters con- 
taining their expression of sorrow at his 
death. Mr. Arn. S. Allen, who had met Rose at 
the Pacific Grove Student Conference during his 
year of service as International Secretary, writes : 

We were together for the better part of twenty days, that's 
all, and yet no man I ever met either for a longer or for a 
shorter period influenced me more. Just why I cannot tell. 
I am sure it was not because of anything he said to me. It 
was his general attitude towards me. Since meeting him he 
has been my ideal of a Christian man. There was no halo 
on his head, and nothing that awed me. I hadn't known him 
for an hour when he tried to put me into a dark closet in the 
San Francisco Association Building. One of my most vivid 
mental pictures is of him standing in the coacher's box in a 
game of ball which the faculty had with the students, yelling 
like a Comanche Indian, and a smile so broad that he could 
whisper in each ear. He was a great mixer, but his life was 
shot through and through with the spirit of the Master. One 
came away from association with him conscious that he had 
been with Jesus and learned of Him. 

No feature of his service among the college men 
of the Pacific Coast left so deep an impression as 
his work at the Pacific Coast Conference. His 

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©tber tributes 

talks on personal work, given on several occasions 
throughout the gathering, seem to have won for him 
the devotion of all the men. " I can see him still," 
says Reno Hutchinson, a well-known athlete on the 
coast, " with the characteristic sidewise shake of the 
head as he drove home the responsibility that each 
man had for helping his neighbor." 

Ivan B. Rhodes, General Secretary of the Asso- 
ciation at the University of California during 1903, 
writes of this same Conference : 

He left the stamp of his life upon the students of the 
Pacific Coast as no other man has done. At the Conference 
conducted in May, 1900, his intense earnestness and his deep 
love for men awakened the representatives of the Pacific 
Coast colleges to a new sense of their responsibility as stew- 
ards of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

A number of the students were obliged to leave the Con- 
ference a few days before its close to take the Federal census 
in the slums of San Francisco. Rose was especially anxious 
that the sudden change from the high plane of living which 
we had been enjoying to the unpleasant and degrading sur- 
roundings of the city should not weaken the spiritual uplift 
of the Conference. A group of men who were leaving in- 
vited Rose to meet with them in prayer to this end. It was 
one of the most impressive meetings it has been my privilege 
to be in. As Rose prayed, every man seemed to realize the 
presence of a living God, — Rose's God. Many of the men 
had tears in their eyes as they arose from their knees. 
I had been a Christian but a short time when I first met 
Rose, and was very much amazed and interested to find a 
man who could talk so earnestly about his Master one min- 
ute, and be the leader in a " rough house " the next. 

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Un /Demoriam 

The following testimonial was received from H. J. 
McCoy, General Secretary of the San Francisco 
Young Men's Christian Association : 

It was my very good fortune to have the personal friend- 
ship of Horace W. Rose for several years, and to learn by 
personal contact of his intense passion for souls. No joy 
could come into his life so great as that of leading a man into 
the Kingdom of God. He touched for righteousness the stu- 
dent life of this country, and nowhere was he more successful 
in the winning of men than on the Pacific Coast. His manly, 
self-sacrificing, and uncompromising Christian life made him a 
power in the hands of God in the presentation of a personal 
Saviour. The absolute necessity of regeneration was the all- 
absorbing question of his life, and God honored his faith and 
consecration in permitting him to be a master workman in 
things divine. The influence of his life and words upon the 
student body of California's two great universities, the Uni- 
versity of California, and Stanford, will continue as long as 
there are men to be won for Christ. In his death I feel 
keenly my personal loss, as he was much to me, and the in- 
spiration of his life and work was an incentive to effort for 
larger things in the extension of the Kingdom of Christ 
among young men. 

Mention has already been made of Rose's study 
carried on voluntarily after his graduation, which 
was rewarded by action of the faculty of Beloit Col- 
lege in conferring upon him the degree of M. A. His 
mother wrote, at about commencement time : 

I referred in one letter to the thesis Horace wrote and sub- 
mitted for examination. Last evening his diploma reached 
me with a letter from Professor Chapin, saying : " The thesis 
represents good, faithful work on the part of Horace which it 

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©tbet Tributes 

was fitting to recognize, and which would have been recog- 
nized in the same way if he had lived.' , The conferring of 
the degree gives me satisfaction because I know his faithful 
work was worthy of it, and yet it is a tame sort of pleasure 
with what it was to have been. His wife, who was so eager 
to help him in his work, was looking forward with great an- 
ticipation for this result, and we were to rejoice together at 
this token of appreciation of Horace's literary effort. The 
thesis was along sociological lines, its subject being " Friendly 
Visiting " 

Professor Robert C. Chapin writes in the same 
connection : 

In the course of the summer before he died, he came to 
me for an examination on some graduate work that he had 
been doing. I was greatly interested to see the signs of his 
development. He had been studying the broader social 
mission of Christianity, and the manner in which he com- 
bined an intelligent appreciation of this aspect of the King- 
dom of God with a belief in the necessity for such hand-to- 
hand personal work as he was so successful in doing, was 
very suggestive. Some men have no thought of anything but 
the immediate grappling with individuals ; others are im- 
patient of anything short of wholesale social change. Rose, 
while devoted heart and soul to the work in which he was en- 
gaged, showed also the most sympathetic appreciation of the 
advances of the Kingdom in the forms of law and industrial 
organization. 

Charles E. Tompkins, a graduate of the Univer- 
sity of Michigan, was General Secretary of the 
University Association at Ann Arbor two years 
after Rose left the position. In a letter addressed 
to Rose's wife shortly after his death he says : 

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Hit /iDemoriam 

I hardly know what to say, but I do want you to know that 
my heart is full of sympathy, because it has been saddened so. 
For I loved Holly. No man ever won a place so high in my 
heart as Horace. I looked up to him, and he helped me. 
All that I have done as General Secretary of our Association 
was based on what Horace had done previously. 

And I must confess, that when word came that he had 
gone on home, a fierce, wicked spirit possessed me ; but the 
Master has led me to see that Horace had increased the 
talents God had given him more than the hundred-fold, and 
that he must needs be made " ruler over many things " in the 
Kingdom of our God. 

The State Secretary of Michigan during the years 
of Rose's service in the Middle West was C. M. 
Copeland. He writes : 

That which impressed me most in Rose's life was his man- 
liness, his even temper under all circumstances, and the un- 
affected naturalness of the man. . . . Religion with him 
was not a matter of moods, or forms of speech, or change of 
expression. It was a thing of every-day life, and entered 
into all that he did. I spent a Sunday with him in one 
of the larger educational institutions in Michigan, in which 
many of the students live in residences. In the morning we 
were occupied with other matters, but after dinner I noticed 
him moving from room to room, and wondered what he was 
doing. He did not say, but I have no manner of question 
now, that he was interviewing individual students with a view 
of bringing them into, or developing them in, the Christian 
life, helping them to overcome some easily besetting sin, or 
see more clearly the path of duty. 

As a student secretary Rose had made a careful 
study of the Student Volunteer Movement, its declar- 

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©tber Uributes 

ation and its watchword, " The Evangelization of the 
World in This Generation.' ■ The attention that he 
gave to personal interviews with men who were quali- 
fied to become foreign missionaries proved that he 
believed thoroughly in the fundamental principles of 
this movement. Rev. Harlan P. Beach, the Educa- 
tional Secretary, has written this testimonial : 

Among the delightful memories of the past are the occa- 
sional visits made by Mr. Rose to the office of the Student 
Volunteer Movement in New York. If one had seen him 
only on such occasions the dominant impression gained would 
be that of a man whose Christianity was of the radiant type 
and whose life was made sunny from centre to circumference 
because of his abiding faith. I recall especially the one or two 
occasions when he led the devotional service at noon. The 
passages of Scripture were brief and virile, while his prayers 
w T ere as if one were talking with God, and they never failed to 
uplift those who were privileged to join in them. 

At the various summer schools, which it has been my privi- 
lege to attend with Mr. Rose, there has been no one man who 
made the same impression that his work brought to the students 
gathered there, so far as I could judge of his influence. He 
was marvellously winsome in his way of approaching a new 
man, and it was rarely the case that he knew one intimately 
that he did not show something akin to genuine affection for 
him. At Geneva and elsewhere I have seen him, not button- 
hole his man, but draw him aside and with hand upon his 
shoulder walk off into the woods for one of those delightful 
talks which many a seeker after truth and life will always 
remember. As compared with other workers, he seemed to 
possess a magnetism which attracted and held men close to 
himself, just as the material magnet attracts its piece of metal. 
The general work at these summer schools was aided by his 

*33 



Hn flDemoriam 

great genuineness and a corresponding earnestness of expres- 
sion when he spoke or otherwise participated in the exercises. 

Only once has it been my privilege to watch Rose in his 
college work, and that was at Cornell a month or two before 
his passing. Private conversation with him showed how 
heavily he was burdened, not only by certain conditions in 
the Association, but because of family complications. One 
would have expected a person who was thus handicapped to 
be abstracted from his main work. Instead, he seemed to 
throw himself into it with the greater earnestness, as if a pre- 
monition of the shortness of his day were even then upon him. 
I well recall how he had won in the brief period of his service 
at Cornell a number of men, some of them critical cases. It 
was remarkable to notice how much he was accomplishing 
hour by hour. No moment of his day seemed to be without 
its duty ; and while he had many general interests to care for, 
even under those circumstances the congenial task seemed to 
be that of getting a personal hold upon the students man by 
man. 

If I were to put in a word the impression made by his life, 
it would be as follows : Rose was differentiated from the 
great mass of Christian workers by his fundamental faith in 
God, which constituted the rock foundation of his life and 
activities. With this as a basis he went out into life, eager to 
buy up every opportunity, and anxious not merely to use time 
well, but to regard each day and hour as a talent for invest- 
ment. He realized that before men could be won they must 
be attracted, and that no power was more likely to win students 
than the genuineness of a deep spiritual life combined with 
the cheer of a strong and healthy manhood. Having attracted 
them to himself he did not lose any chances, but laid siege to 
men, not the mass, but one by one, adapting his mode of 
approach to the character of the individual to be won. A 
single attempt never sufficed unless it were successful, for Rose 
had the wisdom to cling to a man like Jacob of old until he 

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©tber tributes 

had taken him captive. Such results as crowned his brief life 
would not have been possible had he not been at once physi- 
cally strong, intellectually attractive, and powerful spiritually. 

During the summer of 1900, several students 
from foreign lands were visiting the Student Asso- 
ciations of the United States. Among them were 
three Europeans from Sweden, Holland, and Den- 
mark. They met Rose frequently during their visit 
in this country. As soon as news of his death 
reached them, an article was printed in Excelsior, 
the organ of the Scandinavian Student Movement, 
in the issue of March, 1901, of which the following 
is a translation made by Mr. Hans P. Andersen : 

Horace Rose, one of the most promising and active stu- 
dent workers of North America, was called home by the Lord 
after a few days' sickness. He was a " jolly fellow," a type 
of the best Western American students, warm-hearted, fresh 
and jovial, but wholesome and Christian. It was observed 
one day when Mott unexpectedly requested him and two 
others to lead the meeting in prayer. The deep, clear way 
in which he spoke to God, and with perfect simplicity peti- 
tioned for definite things, showed clearly that he was a man 
who lived in the place of secret prayer. He showed us 
Europeans, Bjork from Sweden, Brandt from Holland, and 
Ricard from Denmark, great kindness. After the Student 
Conference at Northfield of 1899, he became travelling 
secretary among the universities of the West, and was here 
the means of leading several hundreds of his younger com- 
panions to Jesus Christ. He was for the students of the 
West what Hugh Beaver had been for those of the East. 

It is strange to think how quickly the Lord can complete 
the work of his young servants. At the age of only twenty- 

13s 



flu /iDemoriam 

seven Rose went forth, and what a fine work does he not 
leave behind him ? What have we accomplished ? 

In an age when many Christian leaders shrink from 
evangelistic methods, the Student Christian Move- 
ment has constantly emphasized the importance of 
special religious awakenings as a means of arrest- 
ing the attention of men, and fastening it upon the 
claims of Christ. Had Rose lived he would have 
been in constant demand for special meetings of 
evangelistic character in the colleges and universities 
of the United States and Canada. Mr. Fred B. 
Smith, a secretary of the International Committee, 
devoting much of his time to evangelistic work among 
the city associations, speaks in most appreciative 
terms of Rose, and his love for meetings which led 
men to Christian decision : 

Horace Rose's memory abides with me in increasing 
power. The lapse of years only makes more real his influ- 
ence. I owe much to him. The chiefest thing to me of all 
his splendid life was the manifest genuineness of his passion 
for winning men to the Christian life. I never discovered for 
one moment anything that could have been interpreted as an 
ulterior motive for his service. It was with him any way, by 
any voice, by any method to win men. 

One incident lives with me as an index to the real Rose. 
At a State Convention of the Associations where we were 
participating, a misunderstanding with the local committee 
seemed to have barred the way for an evangelistic service on 
Sunday. He did not arrive until Saturday morning, but 
when he heard of the condition, although he was not publicly 

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©tbet tributes 

to participate in the meeting at all, and it was not at a place 
with a Student Association, he went zealously at work to ad" 
just the difficulty, and kept it up till eleven o'clock Saturday 
night. We won the day and a goodly number of men. I 
well remember when he came to my room to learn why the 
meeting was not to be held, and I tried to persuade him not 
to attempt to press the question. He paced the floor and 
said, " Smith, God will hold us to account for this failure. 
That meeting must be held." And it was. 

Several times during his life, I said to friends that I would 
rather have him in the audience in an evangelistic meeting 
than any other man I had ever known ; and there is no 
man living now, of whom I know, that could fill his place 
in such a gathering. A look from his eye at such a time was 
like a wireless message of " victory." In common with hun- 
dreds, I have a sense of deep gratitude for his incessant, sin- 
cere devotion to the cause of God. 

The following was written by Bishop William 
F. McDowell, a frequent speaker at the Lake 
Geneva Student Conferences, and a wise counsellor 
of student association leaders : 

I was with Rose at one Student Conference at Lake Ge- 
neva, and was profoundly impressed with his influence over 
men. He appeared to live the life of the spirit so naturally 
that many of the men got a new understanding of what such 
a life actually meant. His life seemed to be all of one piece. 
The presence of Christ in it was constantly manifest. 

Several years after this Lake Geneva experience I spent a 
week in Cornell University as Sage Chapel preacher. It was 
just after Rose's death. All through that great institution 
his name was as an ointment poured forth. He left upon the 
studei ts with whom he came in contact there an impression 
which I think will never be effaced. It was said to me freely 

137 



fln flDemoriam 

that many of the Cornell men had privately and publicly testi- 
fied that they found their old lives impossible in Rose's pres- 
ence, and were drawn to a new life by the beauty and holiness 
of his life. I was struck with the fact that his influence in 
Cornell was both direct and indirect. He tried continually 
to lead men to Christ, and did it. But many men were also 
led to Christ just by reason of his presence there. Interested 
he was in everything that pertained to the life of the men, 
but always interested in that high and splendid way that 
made him such a force for righteousness. I count it one of 
the joys of my life to have known him. 

Mr. Walter M. Parsons, formerly a secretary on 
the Pacific Coast, and now connected as a secretary 
with the International Committee, pays his tribute 
in the following language : 

I have known many men whose acquaintance I enjoyed 
and whose comradeship I highly prized, but of all whom I 
have met, not one did I ever like more than Horace Rose. 
I shall never forget our first meeting. He rushed into my 
office in San Francisco, and in his big-hearted way exclaimed, 
" Hello, Parsons, I am mighty glad to meet you ! I need your 
help." His face beamed like the morning, and I'll confess 
that he captured me in five minutes. After chatting for a 
time about mutual friends, and going over plans for the 
Pacific Coast Student Conference, to direct which he had 
come West, he remarked, " Parsons, I have a hard task 
ahead. Mich (Mr. C. C. Michener) has a great hold on the 
college men here, and I wish to see the splendid standard set 
up here maintained. Let's have a word of prayer together. 
We can't make this go without His help." 

For three weeks following we were closely associated. At 
the Student Conference he soon won the hearts of the men ; 
and while Michener had been peculiarly honored, all agreed 

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©tber tributes 

that in Rose a worthy successor had been found. His ad- 
dresses, full of searching questions, cut to the inner life of 
men. His implicit faith in Jesus Christ as the helper of men 
in " putting up a winning fight against sin in their lives " in- 
spired confidence in faltering men, and lukewarm students 
soon felt the contagion of his faith and enthusiasm. " Put- 
ting up a winning fight through faith in Jesus Christ n was a 
common expression, and he led many a student to demon- 
strate the reality of it in his own life. 

Each day after lunch he called together the " faculty," as 
he jokingly termed the group of leaders, and I am sure those 
present will never forget his eager " Now, men, what can we 
do to make the next session count ? " or, " Will you see 
Mr. A. of the Stanford delegation and brace him up on that 
point ? " etc., etc. After discussion and special prayer for the 
success of plans agreed upon by all, he would go to his room, 
don an old suit, and join the boys for the afternoon sports, 
the most frolicsome boy in the whole bunch. He was a veri- 
table reservoir of fun and as good a man behind the bat as 
he was in leading a meeting. His enthusiasm in athletics 
helped him to get a grip on some men otherwise hard to 
reach, and he made the most of it in enlisting those men in 
an enthusiastic service for the Master. 

As I think of his work among students on the Pacific 
Coast, permanent results at every point are readily recalled. 
New life and activity invariably followed his visit to colleges 
or universities. His talks to students may not have abounded 
in " rounded periods," but they had points. He generally 
struck ten. He compelled men to think, and led them to act. 
He would not counsel a man " to go home and think it over," 
but rather to say, " If it is right to be a Christian, if it is right 
to live a clean life, begin it now." 

Quickness and thoroughness characterized his work, and his 
untiring zeal and enthusiasm in personal work bore fruitage 
in changed lives wherever he went. He believed in conver- 

I 39 



Un flDemoriam 

sion definite, clear-cut, sudden if you choose, because he wit- 
nessed the fact in scores of young lives. 

During his last trip to the Coast and at the Student Con- 
ference he worked under a burden that would have crushed 
most men. Yet not for a moment did any one see in 
Rose aught but the man of courage and faith. Standing 
on the promises of his Lord he murmured not. His life at 
this time was a striking testimony to the reality of the joy of 
Christian service which he so earnestly advocated. He was 
forceful and resourceful, aggressive yet tactful, strong and 
virile, yet tender and trustful as a little child. 

Rose's own estimate of himself was far different 
from that of his friends regarding him. It is well 
illustrated by the following little schedule which he 
had copied in his note-book, and which he examined 
frequently before entering a religious meeting : 

CHRISTIAN ZEAL, 100% 

For the organization I am representing . . 20% 
For the reputation of other men .... 15% 
For the personal satisfaction of doing as well 

as I did before 25% 

For the glory of God 40% 

When will the glory of God be my only ambition ? 

He was constantly challenging his motives, not 
only as he entered meetings, but hour by hour 
throughout all the days. Such a spiritual exercise 
naturally resulted in a growing consecration of 
himself to the service of other people. 

In Dr. James Stalker's " Imago Christi " there is 
a striking characterization of Jesus' influence over 

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©tber tributes 

men, which applies in large measure to Rose. 
11 The passing of Jesus through the country was 
like the passing of a magnet over a floor where 
there are pieces of iron : it drew the souls which 
had affinity for the divine life to itself.. And in 
all Christian communities there are some who, in 
greater or less degree, discharge the same function. 
They are known to possess the secret of life ; those 
passing through the deepest experiences of the soul 
are confident that they will understand them ; bur- 
dened consciences seek their sympathy. Surely this 
is the most precious privilege of the soul-winner : 
he is never so effectively seeking the lost as when 
the lost seek him." In view of this qualification for 
helping men, and his estimate of the value of time, 
no more fitting way can be found to close this 
memorial than to quote the following, written by 
Rose at the close of a busy day while in college : 

Meditation and Prayer 

11 The day has gone. In the quiet of the evening 
hour sit a moment with thy better self and think. 
I began the day early with Him. Since then have 
passed fifteen golden hours. Each minute has been 
fraught with privilege and responsibility. Oh, what 
a day of privilege ! But now I pause as the night 
comes on, and ask if what Moses and Aaron could 
say is true of this day just passing out of my grasp, 
( The God of the Hebrews hath met us.' In the 

141 



Un /iDemoriam 

busy ways, in the studies, in the laboratory, on the 
campus, in the closet, is it true ? Has the God of 
the Hebrews met me ? 

" Thou God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I sub- 
mit to Thee this day, its successes and failures. 
Use both to Thy glory. Give me forgiveness in 
Jesus Christ ; and while I sleep to-night, O ! may 
my heart be on the watch for new revelations of 
Thee, and when the morning dawns and the night 
winds and dews are gone, O ! God of the Hebrews, 
meet me and keep me near Thee throughout each 
hour. May this present minute be a Bethel for my 
soul — the place where I meet the God of the 
Hebrews ! " 



142 



Bppen&ix 

In view of the prominent place given by Horace 
W. Rose to personal work as the most successful 
method of leading men to belief in Christ, his notes 
on the subject may be helpful to those who have 
read this memorial. What follows here served as 
the basis for the discussion led by him at the Pacific 
Grove Student Conference (California) during the 
spring of 1899. 

Personal Work. 

I. What is it ? Individual effort to touch another life (for 
Christ's sake), that it may be helped into conformity to 
the teachings of Jesus Christ. 
1. Scripture examples. 

John iii. Nicodemus and Christ. 

John iv. 5-29. Christ and the woman. 

Acts viii. 27-39. Philip and the eunuch. 

John i. 40-42. Andrew and Peter. 

John i. 43-46. Philip and Nathaniel. 

Read James i. 27. Pure religion and undefiled. 

2. Three propositions. 

(1) It is not hard. The difficulty is, we are not 
prepared. It's natural to approach men in 
conversation. 

(a) Commercial traveller a good p. w. 

(b) Personal work to get men for lodges. 

(c) Personal work in politics. 

(d) The " personal element " is the fundamental 

argument in favor of smaller colleges. 

143 



BppenMi 

(2) Every man is under obligation to do p. w. 

(a) It is enjoined in the scriptures, ex- 

ample and teaching. 

(b) Characteristic of new birth. Reach 

out after others. 

(c) My brother's condition rightly de- 

mands it. 

(3) It's the greatest privilege in life. (Angels be 

glad of that chance.) 

(a) It made up a large part of Christ's life. 

(b) James v. 20. Let Him know that he, 

etc. 

(c) Dan'l xii. 3. They that be wise shall 

shine as the brightness of the firma- 
ment, etc. 

II. The need. 

1. Other agencies insufficient unless supplemented by 
this. 
(How many members won by p. w. ?) 
2 Notwithstanding importance few accept responsi- 
bility. 
A cry for workers in churches and everywhere ! 

3. Men around us are hungry and thirsty for light and 

help. 

4. They fight shy of organized movements. 

5. Men love this method. 

6. The Holy Spirit convicts in different ways and 

places. 
Various opportunities. 

III. Qualifications of worker. 

1. A man of character. High standard — no cribbing 

— no dishonesty, gambling, or vulgarity — coarse- 
ness, cigarettes. Have men believe in you. 

2. A longing to help men. 

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Bppen&ii 



Personality — shrewdness — capacity — address. 
Anchored in belief. Born again. " Morality is 

human nature dressed up." God doesn't teach 

that. He teaches the new man. 
Knowledge of Bible. 
A man of prayer. 
Patient and persistent. 



IV. The class. 

1. Object, to enable Christians by the use of special 

Bible studies and by actual participation in per- 
sonal work to lead others, one by one, to Christ. 

2. Members, qualified men who long to lead others to 

Christ, and are willing to give time and energy. 
Avoid enlisting men who have not the confi- 
dence of the class. 6-10 men who will 

(a) Engage in definite personal work. 

(b) Give 20 minutes a day in preparation. 

(c) Attend class regularly and promptly. 

3. Leader, man of God with heart aflame, an aggres- 

sive worker, soul-winner if possible, who will 
count this his large work. Send leader to 
Conference. 

4. Use of class hour. 

(1) Heart -searching questions. 

(2) Development of Bible topic. 

(3) Discussion of recent experience in work. 

(4) Report of work done. 

(5) Use of key passages assigned by leader. 

(6) Much prayer. 

5. Helpful outlines. 

(1) Dr. Johnson's book. 

(2) S. M. Sayford's book. 

(3) Personal work — how organized and accom- 

plished. 

i4S 



BppenMi 

(4) Christ among men. 

(5) Dyson Hague's " Ways to Win." 

(6) Torrey's " How to Bring Men to Christ." 
Read Life of Hugh Beaver — Memorial of a True 

Life. 

V. Suggested kinds of personal work. 

1. Restraining men from indulgence. 

2. Visiting men with idea of helping and cheering and 

comforting them. 

3. Leading men to take up means of growth. 

4. Leading men to give up definite sins. 

5. Leading men to accept Christ and publicly confess 

Him. 

VI. Suggestions. 

1. Keep very humble. 

2. Pray for and use opportunities. 

3. Don't argue or debate in class or out. 

4. Love men and make them love you. 

5. Get parts of Bible well in hand. 

6. Meet men alone. 

7. Meet objections lovingly, present real Gospel. 

8. Study specific sins. 

9. Be constant in prayer — rely upon the Holy Spirit. 

10. Be willing to make mistakes for Christ's sake. 

11. Be tactful — study the man and your ability to 

help. 



146 



JUN 24 1904 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Sept. 2005 

PreservationTechnoIogies 

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